Conservatism In America Edition Second

CONSERVATISM
IN AMERICA

Second Edition, Revised
by

Clinton Rossiter

Foreword by Ccorge F. Will
MlSU- CENTRAL LIBRARY

KAbYANI PUBbISHERS

NEW DELHI - LUDHIANA

99424CL

Estate of Clinton Rossiter
Copyright© 1955, 1962 by Clinton Rossiter

Price Rs 35 00

Published by Mrs Usha Raj for Kalyani Publishers and
Printed by Mohan Makh^tani at Rekha Printers Pj-jvate LinuJed
New Delhi-110020

To the gentle memory of

Frederic T. Wood

1878-1955

MAECENAS AT AVIS EDITE RECIBUS,

O ET FRAESIDIUM ET EULCE DECUS MEtru!

FOREWORD

BY GEORGE F.WIU

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FOREWORD

skeptical about the power of mere truth to reform a naughty
world Surveying the littered landscape of America's re-
cent social history, it is not hard to discern events that lent
conservative truth a helping hand The Crcat Society legis-
lative initiatives were quickly perceived (fairly or unfairly)
as having promised much more than the government was
competent to deliyer The Vietnam War and Watergate
deepened skepticism about the competence of government,
and stimulated skepticism about the good motives of gov-
ernment The turmoil of the years 1965 (the Watts riot)
through 1975 (the fall of Saigon) Induced in many people
a conservative insight the crust of civilization Is thin, and
the traditions of civility arc brittle Unrest on campuses,
and the intrusion of federal "affirmativ e action" and other
regulations into academic life, helped bring forth a con-
servative intellectual movement

But history is the history of ideas — of mind — not of
autonomous events shaping minds The lustory of con-
servatism in America is at least as confused as the history
of almost everything else in America and his become more
confused since the ranks of conservatives have begun to
grow rapidly This country takes ideas, and the words that
convey them, seriously The ideas and vocabulary of Ameri-
can politics derive directly from the liberal-democratic
tradition of the eighteenth century It sometimes seems that
many American conservatives are unreconstructed “classic"
or “nineteenth-century" liberals who would be recognized
as such in a European context Furthermore, this country
was founded by liberal gentlemen who made a conserva-
tive revolution Many of the most revered figures of the
liberal tradition, from Jefferson on, were temperamentally
conservative, and conservatives are inclined to consider
temperament as important as doctrine in politics

Writing this book was for Rossiter a somewhat thankless
task — he certainly got little thanks from many conservatives
He had to impose a semblance of order on a disorderly
jumble of disparate hut related impulses, and he had to
make explicit the implicit relationships between kinds of
conservatism To do this, he adopted a latitudmanan ap-
proach to defining conservatism This exasperated those

FOREWORD VU

conservatives who regarded conservatism less as a political
program for winning and wielding power than as a church
militant more devoted to preserving the purity of its doc-
trine than to converting the world

Among those who have been placed in the conservative
tradition are Alexander Hamilton, among the architects of
national power, and Albert Jay Nock, the author of a rev-
erent biography of Hamilton's great rival, Thomas Jefferson,
Jefferson, the advocate of decentralization, and his rival,
John Marshall, whose jurisprudence consolidated federal
power., Andrew Camegje, industrialist, and the Southern
'‘agrarians,” critics of industrial civilization, John C Calhoun
and William Fitzhugh, South Carolinians whose doctrines
about states’ rights and slavery helped produce the Con-
federacy, and Lincoln, whose thought (with not a little help
from the Union Army) defeated the Confederacy, Theodore
Roosevelt, an inventor of the modem Presidency, and Robert
Taft, who sought the office by promising that he would
conduct it differently Any definition of conservatism
elastic enough to encompass Ayn Rand had better find
room for the Walter Lippmann who wrote The Public
Philosophy (1935)

The Western liberal tradition has many saints— Locke,
Paine, Jefferson, Mill, to name just four — but conservatism
111 the modem age has one fountainhead Edmund Burke
Among America’s Founding Fathers, John Adams was the
closest approximation to a Burkean Since then, as Rossiter
knew, traditional conservatism has often been in the custody
of literary rather than political persons Herman Melville,
Henry Adams, Paul Elmer More, Irving Babbitt, William
Faulkner, James Gould Cozzens, and, today, Herman
Wouk and Walker Percy

The preeminence of Burke in the Western conservative
tradition is (or should be) a bit embarrassing for those
American conservatives who seem to think that conserva-
tism is capitalism, no more, no less Burke knew that eco-
nomic thmlang, although necessary, is too thin a gruel to
serve as a political philosophy He thought that economic
reasoning encouraged a desiccated rationalism Inappropriate
to a rounded understanding of the life of society (That is

FOREWORD

viu

probably why in a particular denunciation he lumped
“economists" with “sophisters” and “calculators ") Thus it is
strange that conservatism twice (in the Cilded Age and
again today) has come perilously close to disappearing into
ail economic doctrine And it is passing strange that this
doctrine— laissez-faire capitalism — should be most skillfully
advocated by a scholar (Milton Friedman) who punctili-
ously notes that he is not a conservative at all but a classic
“Manchester” liberal

The natural (by which I mean Burkean) conservative
dubiousness about politics controlled by abstractions is
admirable, but some American conservatives added, for a
while, a less wholesome suspicion of ideas, or at least ideas
other than a particular economic doctrine There were three
reasons for this First, by identifying themselves so
thoroughly with the American enterprise system, and by
ascribing so much good to the entrepreneurial impulse,
conservatives came to distinguish too emphatically between
people of thought and people of action, and to identify too
much with the latter Second, respect for free markets as
rational allocators of resources became, for some conserva-
tives, an almost irrational faith in the solution of all social
problems through spontaneous, voluntary cooperation in
markets This produced disparagement of political ideas,
which conservatives associated with government planning
and direction Third, conservatives thought intellectuals had
a vested interest m disparaging markets because markets
work so well without the supervision of intellectuals How-
ever, in the twenty years since Rossiter's revised edition
appeared, the intellectual landscape has changed a lot
There are many more conservative Journals, organizations,
and columnists, and liberalism seems (not least to many
liberals) to be intellectually tuckered out

It would be quixotic, not to say confusing, to try to pull
the American usage of the word "conservatism" into line
with traditional usage in the Western political tradition
European conservatism has generally been defined m
terms of historical phenomena that have httle if any rele-
vance to American experience These phenomena include
clericalism and established churches, attempts to preserve

FOREWORD

well-defined hierarchies of social classes, resistance to
popular sovereignty, and disdain for commerce

The way Americans use the word “conservatism" strikes
Europeans os peculiar They see Americans packing into
the idea of conservatism some ideas that are, if not flatly
incompatible, at least m tension with it
Truth be told, contemporary conservatism sometimes is
as confusing as it is vigorous Some persons say that their
conservatism primarily concerns governmental due process
They emphasize judicial restraint and federalism, and con-
tend that conservatism is as much about the correct alloca-
tion of governmental powers as it is about the advancement
of particular policies Others argue that libertarian social
policies that expand commercial and personal freedom,
whethc r by legislation or litigation, are the essence of con-
servatism Still others say that the basic conservative
criticism of modem society is that there is altogether too
much freedom — for abortionists, for pomograpbers, for
businesses trading with the Soviet Union, for young people
exempt from mandatory national service

A problem discerned by Rossiter (and Peter Viereck, and
others who consider themselves conservatives) is an inco-
herence in conservatism that is closely identified with free-
market economics The severely individualistic values, and
the atomizing social dynamism of a capitalistic society con-
flict with the traditional and principled conservative con-
cern with traditions, among other things Those other things
include the life of society m its gentling corporate exis-
tence — m communities, churches, and other institutions that
derive their usefulness and dignity from their ability to
summon individuals up from individualism to concerns
larger and longer-lasting than their self- interestedness
There is a sense in which the current phase of conserva-
tism’s history opened in i960 A Democratic candidate was
elected to follow Dwight Eisenhower, who was considered
highly unsatisfactory by conservatives, many of whom now
know better And In i960 a freshman senator from a state
with three electoral votes published The Conscience of a
a trsct tltst brcsme, for s th? ds&twtg

document of the conservative movement In it Barry Cold-

FOREWORD

water said "The laws of God, and of nature, have no date-
line The principles on which the Conservative political
position is based have been established by a process that
has nothing to do with the social, economic and political
landscape that changes from decade to decade and century
to century ”

"Nothin^’? Surely most conservatives would insist that
conservatism has everything to do with prudent accommo-
dation to perpetually changing social, economic, and
political landscapes, and that the essence of unconservative
approaches to politics is the attempt to apply fixed doctrine
to a world forever in flux Goldwater said that a proper
conservative’s overriding concern “will always be Are we
maximizing freedom?' But other conservatives would
emphasize that the distinguishing virtue of the conservative
mind is suspicion of politics organized around one single
overriding concern, because too much is apt to get over-
ridden The late Alexander Bickel of the Yale Law School,
the most subtle American interpreter of Burke, emphasized
Burke’s abhorrence of doctrines plucked from the air with-
out reference to traditions and other important conditions
Rights, Burke said, are defined “in balance between differ-
ences of good, in compromises sometimes between good
and evil, and sometimes between evil and evil Political
reason is a computing principle adding, subtracting,
multiplying, and dividing, morally and not metaphysically,
or mathematically, true moral denominations *

Rossiter wrote his book a quarter of a century before
Ronald Reagan was inaugurated Before conservatism be-
came interesting to a large public, Rossiter understood that
conservatism in America is a rainbow of persuasions His
great service to America's understanding of itself, and con-
servatives’ understanding of themselves, was in arguing that
the conservative tradition is less sharply defined than most
people think — and less exclusive than some conservatives
seem to wish it were Rossster’s inclination to count, for
example, Adlai Stevenson in the conservative tradition con-
vinced many that Rossiter was construing conservatism so
broadly that “conservative’ would become a classification
that would not classify it would include almost everyone

FOREWORD

But when one considers some of the people and policies
that have bubbled to the top of the Democratic Party since
Stevenson’s day, Rossiter’s argument seems less strained
than it seemed when the partisan passions of the fifties still
clouded understanding The question of whether this or
that person shall be counted among America's conservatives
is less important than the central point of Rossiter's book,
which is that American conservatism is an older, deeper,
broader, and more attractive stream than many people
think There are many currents in the conservative river, a
fact that has not always pleased some who fancy them-
selves conservatives and who chensli the cozy purity of the
"movement” (as they understand it) more than they desire
influence and responsibility But as American conservatism
has grown in political strength and intellectual confidence,
conservatives have become less sectarian and more com-
fortable with the complexity of conservatism’s Intellectual
pedigree Rossiter’s book should now receive a less chilly
reception than it met with fiom some conservatives in 1955
John Dos Passos, who came to conservatism after a mis-
spent youth, once wrote “in time of change and danger,
when there is a quicksand of fear under one’s reasoning, a
sense of continuity with generations before can stretch like
a lifeline across the scary present ” I do not know when Dos
Passos expressed that impeccably conservative sentiment,
but it is certainly germane to the scary present Conserva-
tism is a tributary that has become a powerful part of the
mam current of American intellectual life Clinton Rossiter's
explanation of wheie ronservatism has come from contrib-
utes to a sense of continuity, not only for conservatives
but for all Americans who understand that ideas have
consequences

CONTENTS

I An Introduction to Conserva-
tism, or the Vocabulary of

Ri ght and Left 3

I] The Conservative Tradition, or
Down the Road from Burke to
Kirk 20

III Conservatism and Liberalism in

the American Tradition, or
How to Have the Best of Two
Possible Worlds 67

IV American Conservatism, 1607-

1865, or Three Cheers for the
Federalists and One for Cal-
houn 97

V American Conservatism, 1865-

1945, or the Great Train Rob-
bery of American Intellectual
History 128

VI American Conservatism in the

Ace of Roosevelt and Eisen-
hower, or the Search for Iden-
tity m the Welfare State 163

CONTENTS

Tire Conservative Minority, or
wttft Edmund Burfce m Darkest
America

197

VIII

Tire Future of American Con-

servatism, or a Modest Vote of
Thanks for the Thankless Per-
suasion

255

BibliocrAphY

271

Index

m

Conservatism in America

XIV

CONTENTS

VII

The Conservative Minority, or
with Edmund Burke in Darkest
America

197

V1H

The Future of American Con-
servatism, or a Modest Vote of
Thanks for the Thankless Per-
suasion

235

Bibliography

271

Index

293

Conservatism in America

□

I

AN INTRODUCTION
TO CONSERVATISM
o n

The Vocabulary
of Right and Left

Ovx or the many wonders of the post-war years has been
the revival of conservatism as a vigorous, self -conscious
force in American life If hardly as startling in impact as
the onslaught of television, the rush for the suburbs, the
reach into space, or the assault on segregation, this revival
has been an event of much consequence in both the harsh
world of the politicians and the bright heavens of the In-
tellectuals

While the reappearance of conservatism may be some,
thing of a wonder, it is the land of wonder for which there
is an obvious and adequate explanation Toward tf* ^
of FnnlLn D Roosevelt's second term we began to move,
as we had always moved after a season of change and re!
form, into a season of tnsrt xn and ccnwhdatioa. The en-
suing years of prosperity and danger, cl triumph and fnjj.
txaOon, carried us even farther away from the LbenUn,
of the 1030 '*. by 1950 w were ready for at \rx n ,
modest dose of ccnsen-atiim. Wearied by twts decade of

4 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Jug}) adventure, we wanted to rest for a spell and take
new bearings Menaced by a frightful foe, we became
testily defensive about the way of life the foe despises
Raised by toil, imagination, and "a little bit of luck to
unexampled well-being, we began to behave like men
with something substantial to be conservative about^
'Creeping conservatism" rather than "creeping socialism
was the grand trend of the 1950 s By the middle of the
decade we were, as much as restless America ever can
be, ft conservative country

If we are not quite so conservative a country today, we
are none the less a country in which conservatism helps
visibly to set the style in life and politics The signs of tins
conservatism are everywhere about us After generations
of exile from respectability, the word itself has been wel-
comed home with cheers by men who, a few short years
ago, would sooner have been called arsonists than con-
servatives Politicians, columnists, businessmen, and edi-
tors shout the slogans of the revival, the campuses shelter
tnen who find their inspiration in Colend ge and Burke
rather than in Whitman and Jefferson, and a self-pro-
claimed conservative (of the "dynamic" variety, to be
sure) has only recently finished off the most crowd-pleasing
eight years that any President has ever spent in the White
House The purveyors of the Continental have appealed to
C Wnght Mills’s power elite to experience "the thrill of
being conservative", the purveyors of obscurantism and
racism (now packaged as “anti-communism”) are exploit-
ing the fear of being radical, and it is doubtful whether
John Dewey could be elected to a single school board in
the United States today The tide of American conserva-
tism runs in confusing patterns, but few will now dany
that it runs deep and strong If it is not the dominant
current of American life, it Is most certainly a power-
ful one, and it calls for an understanding that it ha*
hitherto been denied both by those who ore floating with
It and by those w ho would like to dam it up

This book u the result of ray own quest for an under-
standing of American conservatism, and I hope that it may
serve as a guide to others who are anxious to make the

AN INTRODUCTION TO CONSERVATISM

quest for themselves It is primarily a study of the political
theory of American conservatism — of the principles that
have inspired our conservatives in the past, that appear to
inspire them m the present, and that are likely to inspire
them in the future Yet it is also a study of political prac-
tices, for conservatives, like other men, cannot always
be known by the principles they cry aloud Our search is
for the essence of American conservatism, which, like all
conservatisms, finds expression in immanent institutions
rather than in transcendent ideas

It would be pleasant if we could go directly upon that
search, but we cannot leap o\er the obstinate fact that
conservatism is one of the most confusing words m the
glossjiy of political thought and oratory Indeed, it could
well have been "conservatism” that Justice Holmes had in
mind when he WTote, with characteristic felicity, "A word
is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin
of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and
content accord ing to the circumstances and time in which
it is used ” One need not spend more than an hour with
the literature of the revival to realize that few words are
quite so variable in color and content The failure of Ameri-
cans to agree on the meaning of ‘'conservatism” has dis-
torted opinion and cramped discussion of some of the most
pressing issues of our tune Small wonder that several
leading political theorists have proposed that conservatism,
along with its partner-ro-confusion liberalism, be sold for
scrap

Words, however, are not easily scrapped, and even if
these wise men could agree upon or coin an acceptable
substitute — an unlikely prospect — the rest of tis would
doubtless go nght on using a word that is, after all, an
extremely useful tool when properly handled I have Ined
too long with "conservatism" and have heard too many
thoughtful men wrangle o\cr its meaning to launch this
study without stating my own definitions and begging the
reader to agree with them for the duration of these pages

Before I stale them, we should perhaps take notice of
— and thus put safely out of the way — some of the popu-

6 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

lar uses of “conservatism," winch has become in modem
America, as it was in Macaulay’s England, "the new cant
word " Words Idee “cautious,” "prudent,” "stodgy,” and
"old-fashioned” have gone out of favor in our^ daily
speech Everything and everybody is “conservative” these
days the football team that stays on the ground, the in-
vestor who prefers General Motors to Wildcat Oil, the
skipper who takes a reef m a twenty-knot breeze, the
young man who wears white button-down shirts instead
of Harry Truman Specials, the other young man who sends
in cash rather than a check to NAACP, the publisher
who never takes a flier without balancing it with two solid
textbooks, the collector who prefers Wyeth to Kuniyoshi
or even Klee to Pollock While no one can object to these
popular uses, which doubtless bring comfort to the users,
they must not be permitted to obscure the really impor-
tant connotations of "conservatism" in the language of poli-
tics and culture There are, I believe, four such connota-
tions with which students of American conservatism must
be fully conversant

The first denotes a certain temperament or psycho-
logical stance. Temperamental conservatism is simply a
man's “natural” disposition to oppose any substantia!
change in his manner of life, work, and enjoyment Psy-
chologists agree generally that all human beings exhibit
conservative traits to some degree at some time in their
lives, and in most men these appear to be dominant The
important traits in the conservative temperament, all of
them largely non-rabonal in character, would seem to be
habit, inertia, fear, and emulation

Habit is the disposition to do the same things m the
same way, especially if one has learned to do them skill-
fully by constant repetition Habit among humans is
largely but not completely a product of culture, a sign that
the individual has worked out an adjustment with his en-
vironment William James considered it "the enormous
flywheel of society, its most precious conservative agent
It alone is what keeps us all within the bounds of ordi-
nance”

Human beings, like matter, prefer to retain their "state

AN INTRODUCTION TO CONSERVATISM

7

of rest or of uniform rectilinear motion so long as - . .
not acted upon by an external force * Inertia calls for no
exertion, while innovation, as Thorstem Veblen wrote m
his Theory Of the Leisure Class, “involves a degree of
mental effort— a more or less protracted and laborious
effort to find and keep one’s hearings under the altered
circumstances ” Veblen, characteristically, went on to ex-
plain the “conservatism of the poor’ in these terms, as-
serting that “progress is hindered by underfeeding and
excessive physical hardship ” There is little reason to ar-
gue with this distressing observation, but we may find
inertia m the reluctance of men in all classes and situations
— and even more obviously women — to expend extra
effort to meet the problems of change One important ele-
ment in the intensified conservatism of old age is the pro-
gressive reduction of energy and growth of inertia The
"conservatism of ignorance," the bane of social reformers
through all the ages, can also be explained m terms of
inertia

Fear is both an instinctive and culture-determined ele-
ment m the psychology of conservatism, as such it takes
the shape of anxiety, guilt, or shame Fear of the unknown
and unexpected, fear of the unconventional and irregular,
fear of the group’s disapproval and one's own weaknesses
■—these and a thousand other fears persuade a man to be
conservative The most important fear of all in shaping
the conservative temperament is the fear of change,
which dislocates, discomforts, and, worst of all, dis-
possesses

Emulation is a product of both a fear of alienation
the group and a craving for its approval Appearing m de-
veloped societies as the desire for respectability, it leads
men to acquiesce in the status quo and conform to the
standards of their group “To uphold the old" wrote A B
Wolfe, “to abide by the established, to refrain from much
criticism of things as they are, to think none but conven-
tional thoughts— these art- the avenues to day-by-day
respectability," and thus, it should be added, to peace and
security

The social importance of the conservative temperament

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

needs no demonstration When men gather into group*'
as they have no choice but to dc>. this temperament be-
comes essential to both survival and progress Without
it men cannot hope to solve such ever-present problems
as procurement of food and shelter, division of labor,
maintenance of law and order, education, and procreation
Without it they cannot find the release from tension and
insecurity that permits them to engage In creative thought
and adventurous activity Individual men and entire so-
cieties both rely heavily on the conservative temperament,
the “natural"* desire for security, safety, and peace
The “conservatism of possession” is what many men
seem to have m mind when they describe a person or
argument or course of action as conservative Possessive
conservatism is the attitude of the man who has something
substantial to defend against the erosion of change,
whether it be his status, reputation, power, or, most com-
monly, property — and it need not appear "substantial
to anyone but him This is not a posture struck only by the
well-placed and well-to-do The even or at least endur-
able tenor of the possessive conservative’s existence de-
pends largely on what he has and holds, threats to his
property or status are threats to his interests, routine, and
comfort tale temperamental conservatism, the conserva-
tism of possession is a self-centered, non-speculative
frame of mind opposed to change of any type and from
any direction It is only incidentally an attitude toward
social and political reform The possessive conservative
looks on new trends and tastes and on proposals of re-
form as threats, not to the community, but to his place in
it It is conceivable, if not very probable, for him to be a
man with an essentially radical temperament. In most con-
servatives possession and temperament fuse into a for-
midable bias against irregularity and dislocation

The third and most common use of this word is to de-
scribe what I must cal], for want of a handier phrase, prac-
tical conservatism This is the conservatism of tempera-
ment and possession operating in a new dimension, the
community, but not on the higher plane of speculative
thought It is the attitude of the man who has looked be-

AN INTRODUCTION TO CONSERVATISM 9

yond his own comings and goings and has recognized,
however fuzaly, that he is a member of a society worth
defending against reform and revolution He recognizes
further that such defense calls for something more than
holding his own place and property He has pushed be-
yond the Erst two conservatisms and is prepared to op-
pose disruptive change m the legal, political, economic,
social, religious, or cultural order The practical conserva-
tive has managed to nse some distance above his own in-
terests, to sublimate the meaner urges into devotion to his
community

The complexity of traits that shapes this attitude in-
cludes habit, inertia, fear, emulation, and the urge for se-
curity and secure possession, but two things have been
added in sufficient measure to transform it into a higher
order of conservatism the sense of membership m a com-
munity and a dislike or fear of political and social radical-
ism What has not been added is the urge to reflect The
practical conservative’s devotion to his community, it
should be noted, is neither a cause nor an effect of con-
sidered thought Practical conservatism is just that a sense
of satisfaction and identity with the status quo that may
be classed only by extreme courtesy as a philosophy or
tradition or faith Most men adopt simple, non-speculative
attitudes toward society and its problems, and most con-
servatives are therefore practical conservatives Many
such men are hardly conscious of their conservative bent,
many, especially in America, deny that they are conserva-
tives at all Yet all are firmly in the ranks of those who are
satisfied with things as they are and distrust the propo-
nents of sweeping change

The last and highest kind is philosophical conservatism
The philosophical conservative subscribes consciously to
principles designed to justify the established order and
guard it against careless tinkering and determined reform
His conservatism is explained m intellectual as well as psy-
chological, social, and economic terms Nurture has joined
with nature to make him the man he is He is conscious of
the history, structure, ideals, and traditions of his society,
of the real tendencies and implications of proposals of re-

10

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

form, and of the importance of conservatism in maintain-
ing a stable social order He is aware that he is ® con-
servative, and that he must therefore practice a conserva-
tive politics This awareness of his nature and mission is to
a substantial degree the result of hard thinking under radi-
cal pressure, he has examined his principles, candidly if
not always enthusiastically, and found them good Ihs
loyalty to country projects into the past, and his sense of
history leads him to appreciate the long and painful proc-
ess through which it developed into something worth de-
fending Moreover, his loyalty is so profound that he is
ready to transcend the conservatism of possession by suf-
fering pnvation and deprivation, and a large dose of un-
popularity, in defense of cherished institutions and values
Awareness, reflection, traditionalism, and at least some
degree of disinterestedness — these are the qualities that
distinguish the genuine conservative from all others who
bear this label He is a rare bird m any country, an even
rarer one m this, and as he is rare, so is he precious — no
less precious, I would insist, than that other rare bird, the
genuine liberal His leadership, both active and intellec-
tual, can alone transform a confused mass of practical con-
servatives into a purposeful conservative movement It is
with this brand of conservatism, especially with the
shapes, both classic and grotesque, that it has assumed
in America, that we are chiefly concerned in this book.

The next step toward reducing some of the confusion
that surrounds conservatism is to distinguish it, if -only
crudely, from other isms This can be most readily ac-
complished by treating conservatism as an attitude toward
social change and political reform, and by fixing its posi-
tion on file well-worn but serviceable spectrum that runs
from left to right We shall return later to the question of
what distinguishes conservatism as a system of political
thought from liberalism or radicalism or any other ism
Let us assume a community m which government is
constitutional, society and the economy are well-struc-
tured, science and technology are active, and men are at
liberty to propose and oppose reforms designed to meet

AN INTRODUCTION to CONSERVATISM J1

the problems of an evolving way of life. I suggest that
within this community, of which there are many examples
in the Western world, we can find at least seven distin-
guishable attitudes, especially toward change that is
to be effected or sealed by positive reform

Several words of caution should precede the listing of
these isms While they might easily be compressed into
five, three, or even two categories and as easily expanded
into a dozen, there is a certain useful logic to the political
spectrum 1 am proposing They proceed from left to right,
not along a straight line but around the nm of a circle, so
that the first and seventh categories, when viewed from
the third and fourth, are the closest of neighbors The fine
of division between any two of them is in fact no line at all
but an imperceptible gradation, and within each category
there are any number of possible minor deviations Within
each there are also many degrees of knowledge and con-
sciousness, a man may have come to one of these views
through the hardest land of thinking, or he may hold to it
out of ignorance and cussedness

These, then, are the attitudes with which men look
upon change and reform in an established way of life,
whether in its laws, customs, constitution, ideals, culture,
economic arrangements, class structure, educational sys-
tem, religious institutions and creeds, or in all the complex
.relations of man to man

Revolutionary radicalism insists that inherited institu-
tions are diseased and oppressive, traditional values dis-
sembling and dishonest, and it therefore proposes to sup-
plant them with an infinitely more just and benign way of
life So sweeping is its commitment to the future, so un-
'vdlrng is it to brook delay, that it is prepared to force
entry into this future by subversion and violence Its atti-
tude toward the social process is simple and savage it
means to disrupt this process as quickly and completely as
possible in defiance ol all rules of the game, which are, in
any case, monstrous cheats

Radicalism, too, is dissatisfied with the existing order,
committed to a blueprint for thoroughgoing change, and
thus willing to initiate deep-cutting reforms, but its pa-

io

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

form, and of the importance of conservatism in maintain-
ing a stable social order He is aware that he is a con-
servative, and that he must therefore practice a conserva-
tive politics This awareness of his nature and mission is to
a substantial degree the result of hard thinking under radi-
cal pressure, he has examined his principles, candidly if
not always enthusiastically, and found them good His
lojalty to country projects into the past, and his sense of
history leads him to appreciate the long and painful proc-
ess through which it developed into something worth de-
fending Moreover, his loyalty is so profound that he is
ready to transcend the conservatism of possession by suf-
fering privation and deprivation, and a large dose of un-
popularity, m defense of cherished institutions and values
Awareness, reflection, traditionalism, and at least some
degree of disinterestedness — these are the qualities that
distinguish the genuine conservative from all others who
bear this label He is a rare bird in any country, an even
rarer one in this, and as he is rare, so is he precious — no
less precious, I would insist, than that other rare bird, the
genuine liberal His leadership, both active and intellec-
tual, can alone transform a confused mass of practical con-
servatives into a purposeful conservative movement It Is
with this brand of conservatism, especially with the
shapes, both classic and grotesque, that it has assumed
in America, that we are chiefly concerned in this book.

The next step toward reducing some of the confusion
that surrounds conservatism is to distinguish it, if-only
crudely, from other isms This can be most readily ac-
complished by treating conservatism as an attitude toward
social change and political reform, and by fixing its posi-
tion on the well-worn but serviceable spectrum that runs
from left to right We shall return later to the question of
what distinguishes conservatism as a system of political
thought from liberalism or radicalism or any other i*m
Let us assume a community in which government is
constitutional, society and the economy are well-struc-
tured, science and technology are active, and men are at

AN INTRODUCTION TO CONSERVATISM

n

the problems of an evolving way of life I suggest that
Within this community, of which there are many examples
m the Western world, we can find at least seven distin-
guishable attitudes, especially toward change that is
to be effected or sealed by positive reform

Several words of caution should precede the listing of
these isms While they might easily be compressed into
five, three, or even two categories and as easily expanded
into a dozen, there is a certain useful logic to the political
spectrum I am proposing They proceed from left to right,
not along a straight line but around the rim of a circle, so
that the first and seventh categories, when viewed from
the third and fourth, are the closest of neighbors The line
of division between any two of them is m fact no line at all
but an imperceptible gradation, and within each category
there are any number of possible minor deviations Within
each there are also many degrees of knowledge and con-
sciousness, a man may have come to one of these views
through the hardest land of thinlang, or he may hold to it
out of ignorance and cussedness

These, then, are the attitudes with which men look
upon change and reform in an established way of life,
whether in its laws, customs, constitution, ideals, culture,
economic arrangements, class structure, educational sys-
tem, religious institutions and creeds, or in all the complex
relations of man to man

Revolutionary radicalism insists that inherited institu-
tions are diseased and oppressive, traditional values dis.
semblmg and dishonest; and it therefore proposes to sup-
plant them with an infinitely more just and benign way of
life So sweeping is its commitment to the future, so un-
willing is it to brook delay, that it is prepared to force
enby into this future by subversion and violence Its atti-
tude toward the social process is simple and savage it
means to disrupt this process as quickly and completely as
possible in defiance of all rules of the game, which are, in
any case, monstrous cheats

Radicalism, too, is dissatisfied with the existing order,
committed to a blueprint for thoroughgoing change, and
thus willing to initiate deep-cutting reforms, but its pa-

CONSERVATISM IV AMERICA

11

tience and peacefulness set It off sharply from the revo-
lutionary brand It seems to be In much less of ft hurry,
probably because it has come to a less desperate conclu-
sion about the state of affairs, and it Insists that It "all
reach Utopia along the paths of peace In any cose, It
draws the hnc of allowable action short of subversion and
violence

Any man, even the committed conservative, may engage
in conduct that Is radical in appearance or results He
may be driven to kill, steal, or otherwise act in violent dis-
regard of law and convention, he may strike a radical
posture toward one particular institution, such as organ-
ized religion, or one particular Ideal, such as freedom of
expression, he may pursue his conservative ends relent-
lessly with radical means The first course Is not revolu-
tionary radicalism but on act of desperation that certainly
does not have to be accounted for in terms of political
theory The second Is simply a departure, temporary or
permanent, from the general rule that men who are con-
servative about most things tend to be conservative about
all things The third Is one of the dilemmas of modem
American conservatism All arc exhibitions of a sharply
limited radicalism that Is often displaced by conservatives
unaware of the logic of conservatism

Liberalism, the stickiest word m the political dictionary,
is the attitude of those who are reasonably satisfied With
their way of life yet believe that they can improve upon it
substantially without betraying its ideals or wrecking its
institutions The liberal tries to adopt a balanced view of
the Social process, but when he faces a showdown over
some thoughtful plan to Improve the lot of men, he will
choose change over stabibty, experiment over continuity,
the future over the past In short, he is optimistic rather
than pessimistic about the possibilities of reform
Conservatism is committed to a discnm mating defense
of the social order against change and reform The con-
servative knows that change is the rule of life among men
and societies, but he insists that it be sure-footed and re-
spectful of the past He Is pessimistic, though not always
darkly so, about the possibilities of reform, and his natural

AN INTRODUCTION TO CONSERVATISM

*3

preferences are for stability over change, continuity over
experiment, the past over the future The essentia! dif-
ference between conservatism and liberalism as attitudes
toward change and reform is one of mood and bias No
visible line separates one camp from tbe other, but some-
where between them stands a man who is at once the most
liberal of conservatives and most conservative of liberals
In genuine liberals there is a sober strain of conservatism,
in genuine conservatives a piquant strain of liberalism,
and all men, even extreme radicals, can act conservatively
when their own interests are under attack
Sfandpalfum, an awkward but useful term, describes
the attitude of those who, despite all evidence to the con-
trary, seem to think that society can be made static Such
people cannot look with equanimity on any reform,
whether designed to improve the future or preserve the
past The conservative conserves discnnunately, the stand-
patter indiscriminately, for be fears movement in any di-
rection It could be argued that this is not a valid category,
that all so-called standpatters can be classed as either con-
servatives or reactionaries, and it should be acknowledged
readily that men who adopt this attitude consciously are
hard to find Standpattism is in one s< nse simply an excess
of conservatism compounded of fear, ignorance, inertia,
and selfishness, this label might more properly be applied
to the general course of action, or rather of no-action,
resulting from an extreme conservative attitude In any
case, whether we call it standpattism or ultraconservatism
or inacbon, we must occasionally direct our attention to a
point on our circular spectrum halfway between conserva-
tism and reaction, to an outlook on life that longs in vain
for a social process that stands stdL

Reaction sighs for the past and feels that a retreat back
into it piecemeal or large-scale, is worth trying The true
reactionary, a man not to be confused with the conserva-
tive who likes to indulge in reactionary reverie, refuses to
accept the present He knows, or thinks he knows, of a
certain time m the past— the 1920's, the years just before
World War I, the 1890’s, or even earlier — when men were
better oB than they are at present. Wore than this, be is

!4 CONSERVATISM IN AMWCA

willing to erase some laws, enact others, even amend his
nations constitution — in short, act “radical]/'— so that
he may roll back tho social process to the time at which
his countrymen first went foolishly astray

Revolutionary reaction, like revolutionary radicalism, Is
wiling and even anxious to uso violence in its assault on
the existing order Indeed, liberals and conservatives, de-
fenders of change and stability in a peaceful society, find
little to choose between two isms that roam so far beyond
the pale of civilized conduct and purpose I must state
again my conviction that the political spectrum goes from
left to nght around the nm of a circle The two-way street
between Communism and Fascism is a good deal shorter
than some people seem to think, for each of these revolu-
tionary ideologies fuses radicalism and reaction into a
mockery of liberty and justice In this country, too, the
way can be short from the extreme of radicalism to the
extreme of reaction

There are few men who cannot be placed, even if it
may be against their will, in one of these categories,
which, let it be repeated, affix Libels to men only reluc-
tantly and for one narrow purpose While anarchists, her-
mits, and pure traditionalists are something of a problem
for the classifier, most of the first group are probably radi-
cals, most of the second thoroughly frustrated radicals or
standpatters extraordinary, most of the third reactionaries
so reactionary as to have lost contact with reality 'While
sheer opportunists and hopeless indifferents are also dif-
ficult cases, in the final reckoning they, too, find some one
category more comfortable than the others

The numbers of men in each of these groups may vary
sharply from one society to another or from one time to
another within a particular society Indeed, the health of a
nation may be roughly measurable in the ratio of liberals
and conservatives to men of other isms In a just, secure,
well-ordered community the liberal and conservative
categories might include up to ninety per cent of the peo-
ple In a distressed, unstable community one or more of
the other categories would surely be much larger, and the
conservative might find it impossible to practice his trade

AN INTRODUCTION TO CONSERVATISM

*5

In a country heavily populated with standpatters and
reactionaries the conservative may be found traveling
down the middle of the road or even a bit over on the left
— a situation that makes it more difficult for him both to
be a conservative and to be recognized as one.

Let me again make dear that these categories are rele-
vant only to the kind of society we have known m the
West Some cntics of the conservative position, and of
those who seek to identify and describe it, have thought
to end all discussion of the subject by remarking that, if
conservatism is the defense of a going society, then Stalin
was an authentic conservative This, it seems to me, is a
show of sophistry to which we need not make a serious
rejoinder The isms we are discussing, and above all the
kindred isms of the conservatives and liberals, come fully
alive only in the civilized political and cultural conflicts of
the open, popular, ordered, constitutional society.

This leads to a final burst of definition. The words
Right and Left , for all the abuse that has been heaped
upon them, remain useful if tricky tools of political analy-
sis and discussion, and they will be used wherever neces-
sary in this book By the Right, let us mean generally
those parties and movements that are skeptical of popular
government, oppose the bnght plans of the reformers and
do-gooders, and draw particular support from men who
have a sizable stake m the established order By the Left,
let us mean generally those parties and movements that
demand wider popular participation in government, push
actively for reform, and draw particular support from the
disinherited, dislocated, and disgruntled As a general
rule, to which there are histone exceptions, the Right is
conservative or reacbonaiy, the Left liberal or radicaL

We come now to the last of our preliminary tasks, to
identify the most famous school of conservative political

Chronologically, this conservatism u a philosophy of
life and politics that has epsted only smee the French
Revolution There mere brave conservatives heft™
Edmund Burbp but not u»U this great man »d ho col-

l6 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

leagues faced up boldly to the extravagant radicalism of
that event did conservatism come to Lfe as ft clearly dis-
tinguishable school of political thought Burkes Reflec-
tions on the Revolution in France {1790) is rightly con-
sidered the first and greatest statement of consciously con-
servative principles Equally important events for the rise
of conscious conservatism were the Industrial Revolution,
which made change rather than stability the essential style
of the social process, and the upsurge of rationalism,
which put reason in place of tradition as the chief guide to
human conduct The inevitable result was a political faith
dedicated specifically to stability and tradition, and Burke,
surely, was the first to publish it in the streets of Askelon
His preeminence does not go completely unchallenged
On one hand, a charming feature of the conservative re-
vival has been the writing of many books and articles —
some of them solemn, others tongue-in-cheekish — that
project philosophical conservatism back to such worthies
as Locke, Hobbes, Bohngbroke, Richard Hooker, John of
Salisbury, St Thomas, St Augustine, Cicero, Aristotle,
and even Plato These writings have been clever but not
successful While no one can deny that each of these men
expressed ideas of a fundamentally conservative cast,
nor that Burke was a dubful son of a great tradition to
which roost of them contributed richly and beneficently.
Still he stands forth as the first to recast this tradibon in the
form of a defense of the plural, constitutional society
against violent upheaval, the first to grapple with forces
of change that are still at work upon us Burke can be
made leal and relevant to the modem conservative, but
to go back beyond him in quest of an authentic First
Source is to become lost in the shadowy world of “tra-
dition-making "

On die other hand, there are some who, by outlining
the fanciful dimensions of the Perfect Conservative or by
chopping the word into fine pieces, have proved to them-
selves that Burke was not a conservative at alL Such peo-
ple make much of the well-known fact that the word in
its present political meaning did not come into being until
several decades after his death But this again is to play

AN INTRODUCTION TO CONSERVATISM Jy

with definitions and to mistake form for substance Most
historians would now subscribe to die sense of the mat*
ter as it has been expressed by Irving Knstol “There was
in Burke's rhetoric and style a pathos, a reverential at-
tachment to things old and established and ailing with
age, that fixes him as the source and origin o! modem
conservatism "

Geographically, this conservatism. Idee the political posi-
tion it seeks to express, is a Western phenomenon, a phi-
losophy peculiar to the Atlantic community and certain of
its extensions throughout the world Indeed, one must go
further and say that, although it has loyal and eloquent
adherents in countries like Prance, Germany, Italy, Swe-
den, Canada, and the United States, the conservatism of
Burke has held continuous sway as a major political and
intellectual force only in Great Britain It has not flour-
ished as it might have in France and Italy because, among
other reasons, there has never been sufficient agreement
among the men of the Right as to just what it was they
wanted to conserve It does not flourish as it once did in
the United States for reasons I propose to enlarge upon
throughout this book

Ideologically, this conservatism accepts and defends
most of the institutions and values of the contemporary
West Not only does it continue to hold in trust the great
Western heritage from Israel, Greece, Rome, and all Chris-
tianity, the way of hfe that speaks of humanity and justice,
it also pledges its faith to what we know and cherish as
constitutional democracy, the way of life that speaks of
liberty and the consent of the people Conservatism, we
shall learn, is full of harsh doubts about the goodness and
equality of men, the wisdom and possibilities of reform,
and the sagacity of the majority — that is to say, about the
democratic dogma There are times when, through one of
its more chaste and reverent spokesmen, it exhibits a deep
longing for the nineteenth or eighteenth or even thir-
teenth centuries In the final reckoning, however, it ac-
cepts the twentieth century and respects the desire for
human liberty hardly less firmly than it pleads the cause
for social order The true conservative, who is neither a

l8 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

standpatter nor a reactionary, is as much an enemy of the
Fascist as lie Is of the Communist, however much ho may
appear on the surface to shaTc some of the formers no-
tions about authority, obedience, and Inequality He
comes to these notlonj along an entirely different road
from that traveled by the Fascist or opportunistic Rightist,
and he remains well within tho pale of the Christian ethic
and tho Just state Deeply If not Joyfully aware that de-
mocracy Is tho only real alternative to totalitarianism, ho
suppresses his persistent anti-democratic urges and sets
out to domesticate government of, by, and for the peo-
ple with the old of constitutionalism and tradition Ho
draws his Inspiration from tho Whlgglsh Burke rather than
from tho reactionary do Mfllstrc, his concern Is ordered
liberty rather then order pure, simple, and at any colt
Tor tho sake of tho main lino of argument, and hope-
fully for tho snko of cl irity, let us henceforth call this man
"tho Conservative" and his way of life and thought "Con-
servatism ” In consigning other conservatisms, both philo-
sophical and practical, to the lower case, 1 do not mean to
show them disrespect It Is simply a question of defining
sharply tho one great school of political thought that has
been proudly and persistently conservative Since we can
do no less for tho heirs of Jefferson, Bentham, and Mill
than wo do for thoso of Butko and John Adams, let us also
speak from time to time of Liberalism, tho one great school
of political thought that has been proudly and persistently
liberal Tho strange way In which a wholo nation, con-
servatives as well as liberals, has Intoned tho comforting
catch-phrases of Liberalism will 1» one of tho chief sub-
jects of Inquiry In this book

Tho chapter that follows ts a systematic presentation
of tho principles of Conservatism for which I have drawn
on tho wirings of several hundred men from Edmund
Durko to Bussell Kirk. This presentation Is mado for sev-
eral reasons In the first place. Conservatism — by several
other names, to he sure — was a major forco In politics and
culture tliroughout tho first half -century of the Republic,
and it has continue- 5 ^appeal to a talented minority of
thoughtful Amer^ \ .feature of tho cur-

Alt INTRODUCTION TO CONSERVATISM

19

rent revival has been the steady growth of this minority
in numbers and influence Next, although Conservatism
has no standing as a complete system of thought among
any sizable group in this country, most of its key principles
are incorporated, whether m pure or adulterated form, m
the thinking of the Right and a few are even given voice
in the American political tradition There is a universal
quality to the principles of the Conservative tradition
the conservatism of almost every country in the West can
be understood as a version, whether faithful or twisted
or merely decayed, of this tradition Finally, many able
entics of modem American conservatism have called upon
its leading figures in business and politics to mend their
ways by embracing the Conservative tradition It is quite
impossible, in my opinion, to understand the past, present,
or future of American conservatism unless one has a firm
grasp of the fundamentals of Conservatism Once these
have been described in. Chapter II, we will have a set of
highly useful tools with which to examine the American
political tradition (Chapter 111), the political theory, both
past and present, of the American Right (Chapters IV-

VII) , and the future of Amencan conservatism (Chapter

VIII)

In writing this second chapter, I have gone well afield
from the sanctuary of my own political thoughts and have
tned to give a fair and accurate statement of the Conserv-
ative tradition If much of what it says sounds overly
moralistic, even preachy, that is the way Conservatives,
like roost men, write to inspire themselves and persuade
others If much of what it says sounds like "moderate
liberalism" or "constitutional idealism," that is because
most Conservatives have long since made a peace of con-
venience with liberal democracy by incorporating many of
its ideals, if not by accepting all its assumptions In any
case, the one consistent aim of this chapter is to let the
Conservatives speak for themselves

II

THE CONSERVATIVE
TRADITION

O R

Down the Road
from Burke to Kirk

The cenctne Conservative engages reluctantly, and
never really comfortably. In political speculation He
believes with Burke that tho “propensity* to spin out
theories Is “one sure symptom of an ill-conducted state *
Distaste, not affection, for a way of life persuades men to
think deeply and persistently about go\ eminent and so-
ciety, and the Conservative is not surprised, nor even trou-
bled, to learn that some textbooks in pobheal theory dwell
almost exclusively upon the forerunners and creators of
the Liberal and Radical traditions Since his best of all
possible worlds is already here, or was here only ) ester-
day, he refuses stubbornly to contemplate Utopia, much
less draw up plans for it “Above all, no program,” Dis-
raeli warned him, and the good Conservative takes that
warning seriously He would not find it easy to write a
Conservative Manifesto

So foreign, indeed, to his usual need* and tastes is the
art of political theory that the Conservative will not even

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 31

vindicate bis own way of life unless it is openly and danger-
ously attacked Then, quoting T S Eliot to the effect that
“one needs the enemy” he turns to strengthen those parts
of his defense under heaviest assault, and does it, as
Peter Viereclc has noted, with “the quick thrust of epi-
grams” rather than With “sustained theoretical works”
with an eye-and-a-half on the attackers and only the bar-
est concern for the fullness or consistency of his own be-
liefs As a result. Conservatism appears at first glance to be
a sort of gingerbread castle Too many men from too many
generations, most of whom went to their labors under the
guns of reform, have taken part m its building

A closer inspection reveals that the castle is sound and
well proportioned beneath the gingerbread there are iron
and stone The many builders from the many generations
have shared a common faith and common purpose The
political tradition they have created and are shU creating
exhibits a high degree of unity and internal consistency
Out of the vast literature of Conservatism — a mass of prin-
ciples, prejudices, intuitions, aphonsms, dogmas, assump-
tions, and moral explosions — one may extract a system of
political principles at least as harmonious as that which
men call Liberalism Let us first hear what it has to say
about "the measure” if not “of all things,” certainly of
most things political man.

The Conservative holds rather strong opinions about man’s
nature, his capacity for self-government, his relations with
other men, the land of life he should lead, and the rights
he may properly claim On these opinions, which taken
together represent a stiff questioning of the bright prom-
ises of Liberalism, rests the whole Conservative tradition
Man, says the Conservative (who conceals only poorly
his distaste for such an abstraction), is a fabulous com-
posite of some good and much evil, a blend of several
ennobling excellencies and several more degrading imper-
fections “Man is not entirely corrupt and depraved,”
William McGovern and David Collier have written, “but
to state that he is, is to come closer to the truth than to
state that he is essentially good ” As no man is perfect, so

21 C0V5EXVATWM AM**tCA

no man is perfectible. If educated properly, placed fa *
favorable environment, and held fa restraint by tradition
and authority, he may dnpby innate qualities of ration-
ality, sociability, Industry, and decency. Never, no mat-
ter how ho is educated or situated or restrained, will be
throw off completely Ms other innate qualities of irration-
ality, sclEsliness, laziness, depravity, corruptibility, and
cruelty Man’s nature is essentially immutable, and the
immutable strain is one of deep-seated wickedness Al-
though some Conservatives End support for their skeptical
view of man fa recent experiments In psychology, most
continue to rely on religious teaching and the study of
history. Thoso who arc Christians, and most Conservatives
are, prefer to call the motivation for iniquitous and ir-
rational beliavior by its proper name Original Sin

The Conservative is often accused of putting too touch
stress on man's wickedness and irrationality and of over-
looking fas many good qualities, especially his capacity
for reason The Conservative’s answer is candid enough
While he is well aware of man’s potentialities, he must
counter the optimism of the Liberal with certain cheerless
reminders that aro no less true for telling not quite all the
truth* that evil exists independently of social or economic
maladjustments, that we must search for the source of our
discontents In defective human nature rather than in a
defective social order, and that man, far from being malle-
able, is subject to cultural alteration only slowly and to a
limited degree The Conservative therefore considers it
his stem duty to call attention, os did John Adams, to the
"general frailty and depravity of human nature*' and to
the weakness of reason as a guide to personal conduct or
collective endeavor lie is, fa his most candid moments,
an admirer of instinct, the "innate feeling for the good and
the bad," and at least an apologist for prejudice, "the
poor man's wisdom "

This view of human nature is saved from churlish cyni-
cism by two beliefs First, man is touched with eternity
He has a precious soul, be is a religious entity. His urges
toward sin are matched, and with Cod’s grace can be
overmatched if never finally beaten down, by his aspira-

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 23

boa for good For this reason, the Conservative asserts,
man is an object of reverence, and a recognition of man’s
heaven-ordained shortcomings serves only to deepen this
reverence Second, to quote from Burke, the father of all
Conservatives, “The nature of man is intricate " The con-
fession of an eminent psychologist, Gardner Murphy,
“Not much, I believe, is known about man,” is applauded
by the Conservative, who then adds, “Not much, I be-
lieve, will ever be known about lum ” Man is a mysterious
and complex being, and no amount of psychological re-
search will ever solve the mystery or unravel the com-
plexity

No truth about human nature and capabihbes, the Con-
servative says, is more important than this man can gov-
ern himself, but there is no certainty that he will, free
government is possible but far from inevitable Man will
need all the help he can get from educabon, religion,
tradibon, and insbtubons if he is to enjoy even a limited
success m his experiments in self-government He must be
counseled, encouraged, informed, and checked Above all,
he must realize that the collecbve wisdom of the commu-
nity, itself the union of countless parbal and imperfect wis-
doms like his own, is alone equal to this mighbest of social
tasks A clear recogmbon of man’s condibonal capacity
for ruling himself and others is the first requisite of con-
sbtubon-makmg

The Conseivabsm that celebrates Burke holds out
obstinately against two popular beliefs about human re-
labons in modem society individualism and equality Put-
ting off a discussion of individualism for a few pages, let
us hear what the Conservahve has to say about the ex-
plosive quesbon of equality.

Each man is equal to every other man m only one
meaningful sense he is a man, a physical and spiritual
enbty, and is thus enbtled by God and nature to be
treated as end rather than means From the basic fact of
moral equality come several secondary equahbes that the
modem Conservahve recognizes, more eloquently m pub-
lic than m private equality of opportunity, the right of
each individual to exploit his own talents up to their nat-

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

24

lira I limits, equality before the law, the nght to justice
on the same terms as other men, and political equality,
which takes the form — and a rather distressing form it
often seems — of universal suffrage Beyond Bus die Con-
servative is unwilling to go Recognizing the infinite
variety among men in talent, taste, appearance, intelli-
gence, and virtue, he is candid enough to assert that this
variety extends vertically as well as horizontally Men are
grossly unequal — and, what is more, can never be made
equal — in most qualities of mind, body, and spint
The good society of Conservatism rests solidly on this
great truth The social order is organized in such a way
as to take advantage of ineradicable natural distinctions
among men It exhibits a class structure in which there are
several quite distinct levels, most men find their level
early and stay in it without rancor, and equality of oppor-
tunity keeps the way at least partially open to ascent and
decline At the same time, the social order aims to temper
those distinctions that are not natural While ft recognizes
the inevitability and indeed the necessity of orders and
classes, it insists that all privileges, ranks, and other visible
signs of inequality be as natural and functional as possible
The Conservative, of course — and this point is of decisive
importance — is much more inclined than other men to
consider artificial distinctions as natural Equity rather
than equality is the mark of hi* society, the reconciliation
rather than the abolition of classes is his constant aim
When he is forced to choose between liberty and equal-
ity, he throws his support unhesitatingly to liberty. In-
deed, the preference for liberty over equality lies at the
root of the Conservative tradition, and men who subscribe
to this tradition never tire of warning against the “rage for
equality "

While Conservatism has retreated some distance from
Burke and Adams under the pressures of modem democ-
racy, it has refused to yield one salient the belief m a rul-
ing, serving, taste-making aristocracy "If there is any one
point," Gertrude Hunmelfarb writes, “any single empirical
test, by which conservatism can be distinguished from
liberalism, it is a respect for aristocracy and aristocratic in-

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 25

stitutions Every tenet of liberalism repudiates the idea of
a fixed aristocracy, every tenet of conservatism affirms
it” If it is no longer good form to use the word "aristoc-
racy" m political debate, nor good sense to expect that
an aristocracy can be “fixed" to the extent that it was on©
hundred and fifty years ago, the Conservative is still moved
powerfully by die urge to seek out the "best men" and
place them in positions of authority Remembering
Burke's warning that without the aristocracy “there is no
nation," he continues to assert the beneficence of a
gentry of talent and virtue, one that is trained for special
service and thus entitled to special consideration He con-
tinues to believe that it takes more than one generation to
make a genuine aristocrat His best men are “best” m man-
ners as well as in morals, in birth as well as m talents

The world being what it is today, the Conservative
spends a good deal of his time in the pulpit exhorting his
fellow men to live godly, righteous, and sober lives He
does not do this gladly, for he is not by nature a Puritan,
but the tunes seem to have made him our leading “moral
athlete "

Man, the Conservative asserts, is stamped with sin and
carnality, but he is also blessed with higher aspirations If
human nature m general can never be much improved,
each individual may nevertheless bring his own savage
and selfish impulses under control. It is his duty to him-
self, his fellows, and God to do just this — to shun vice,
cultivate virtue, and submit to the guidance of what Lin-
coln called "the better angels of our nature " Only thus,
through the moral striving of many men, can free govern-
ment be secured and society be made stable

What virtues must the m dividual cultivate? The Con-
servative of the tower, the Conservative of the Seld, the
Conservative of the market place, and the Conservative
of the assembly each give a somewhat different answer to
this question, yet all seem to agree to this catalogue of
primary virtues wisdom, justice, temperance, and cour-
age, industry, frugality, piety, and honesty, contentment,
obedience, compassion, and good manners The good man
is peaceful but not resigned and Is conservative through

26

CONSERVATISM JN AMERICA

habit and choice rather than sloth and cowardice He as-
sumes that duty comes before pleasure, self-sacnfice be-
fore self-indulgence Believing that the test of life Is ac-
complishment rather than enjoyment, he takes pride in
doing a good job in the station to which he has been
called He is alert to the identity and malignity of the vices
he must shun ignorance, injustice, intemperance, and
cowardice, laziness, luxury, selfishness, and dishonesty,
envy, disobedience, violence, and bad manners And be is
aware, too, of the larger implications of bis own hfe of
virtue self-government is for moral men, those who
would be free must be virtuous

At the center of that constellation of virtues which make
up the good man (who is also, needless to say, the good
Conservative) is prudence "Prudence," Burke wrote, “is
not only first in rank of the virtues political and moral, but
she is the director" of all the others. The literature of Con-
servatism spends a good deal more time celebrating this
quality than defining it, yet there is no doubt that it repre-
sents a cluster of urges— toward caution, deliberation,
and discretion, toward moderation and calculation, toward
old ways and good form — which gives every other stand-
ard virtue a special look when displayed by a true Con-
servative

Education looms importantly in the literature of Con-
servatism, for it is the road that leads through virtue to
freedom Only through education — in family, church, and
school — can children be shaped into civilized men Only
through education can man’s vices, which are tough, be
brought under control and his virtues, which are frail, be
nourished into robust health. The instruments of educa-
tion should teach a man to think, survive, ply a trade, and
enjoy his leisure Their great mission, however, is to act as
a conserving, civilizing force to convey to each man his
share of the inherited wisdom of the race, to train him to
lead a moral, self-disciplined life, and to foster a love of
order and respect for authority
The Conservative’s understanding of the mission of
education explains his profound mistrust of modem
theories, most of which, he feels, are grounded in a clear

THE CONSERVATIVE tradition 27

misreading of the nature and needs of children The school
has always been a conservative force in society, and the
Conservative means to keep it that way He admits that
there is a stage in the education of some individuals —
those who are to go on to leadership — when self-develop-
ment and self-expression should get prime consideration
First things must come first, however, and before this
stage is reached, the individual must he taught his com-
munity’s values and he integrated into its structure

Before we can describe the Conservative consensus on
freedom and responsibility, we must learn more of the
circumstances m which men can enjoy the one because
they accept the other

Some of the Conservative's best thoughts are directed to
society and the social process The key points of his social
theory appear to be these

Society is a living organism with roots deep m the past
The true community, the Conservative likes to say, is a
tree, not a machine It rose to its present strength and
glory through centuries of growth, and men must forbear
to think of it as a mechanical contrivance that can be dis-
mantled and reassembled in one generation Not fiat but
prescription, not the open hand of experiment but the
hidden hand of custom, is the chief creative force in the
social process

Society is cellular It is not an agglomeration of lonely
individuals, but a grand union of functional groups Man
is a social animal whose best interests are served by co-
operating with other men Indeed, he has no real mean-
ing except as contributing member of bis family, church,
local community, and, at certain stages of historical de-
velopment, occupational association The group is impor-
tant not only because it gives life, work, comfort, and
spiritual support to the individual, hut because it joins
with thousands of other groups to form the one really
stubborn roadblock against the march of the all-powerful
state The Conservative is careful not to nde the cellular
analogy too hard, for he is aware that it can lead to a so-
cial theory in which man loses all dignity and personality

30 CO VSE XVATISM IN AMERICA

In addition to intrinsic groups Lie the family and
church, a healthy society will display a balanced com-
bination of institutions", constitution, common law, mon-
archy or presidency, legislature, courts, civil service,
armed services and subdivisions, colleges, schools, forms
of property, corporations, trade unions, guilds, fraternal
orders, and dozens of other instrumcntaLties and under-
st an dings that mold the lives of men Such symbols of
tradition, of national unity and continuity, as anthems,
ags, ntuals, battlefields, monuments, and pantheons of
heroes are equally dear to the Conservative heart AH
men are stanch defenders of the institutions that meet
tfteir practical and spiritual needs, but the Conservative
places special trust in them “Individuals may form com-
munities, Disraeli warned, “but it Is institutions alone
tnit can create a nation "

Society is structured The Conservative, as we have
learned already, recognizes the existence of classes and
orders as a positive good B> no means wedded to the
habit of making ng,d distinctions, he sees the social stiuc-
toe not as a senes of neat strata laid one on top of another,
but m Colcndge s phrase, as “an indissoluble blending and
interfusion of persons from top to bottom " There must, in
any case, be a top, visible and reasonably durable, and it is
not surprising that the self-conscious Conservative » usu-
aJ/y to be found in or around it.

Society is a unity In the healthy community all these
j?°T ."“V ™d classes St together mto a har.

" h . 0,e ' “"'“'P'* 1“ reshape one part of so-

crety must inevitably ditto, b other parts The Conserva-
of » Ploralst, never loses s.ght of

XXgX ""“ ch a "

10 ’T Chan S e B the rule of hfe, to,
it must «w/ "? A commumt y cannot stand still,

i M ^ Conse ^ative must not

ideat e L Z r ^ tently Ouhvom ^tuhons and
ideals In the words of Tennyson's Hands All Round

May Freedom's oak forever live
With stronger hfe from day to day.

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 29

That man's the true Conservative,

Who lops the moulded d branch away

"Society must alter* Russell Kirk acknowledges, "for
slow change is the means of its conservation, like the hu-
man body’s perpetual renewal” In recognizing, however
grudgingly, this great social truth, the Conservative shows
himself to be neither a reactionary nor a standpatter Yet
he is just as emphatically not a liberal or radical, and he
therefore sets severe conditions upon social change, es-
pecially if it is to be worked by active reform Change,
he insists, must never be taken for its own sake, must
have preservation, if possible even restoration, as its
central object, must be severely limited in scope and
purpose, must be a response to an undoubted social need
— for example, the renovation or elimination of an institu-
tion that is plainly obsolete, must he worked out by slow
and careful stages, must be brought off under Conserva-
tive auspices, or with Conservatives intervening at the
decisive moment (this is known as "stealing the Whigs’
clothes"), and finally, in Disraeli’s words, must “be ear-
ned out in deference to the manners, the customs, the
laws, the traditions of the people” The essence of Con-
servatism is the feeling for the possibilities and limits of
natural, organic change, and the kindred feeling that, in
the words of McGovern and Collier, “while change is con-
stant and inevitable, progress is neither constant nor in-
evitable ” In the eloquent phrases of R J White of Cam-
bridge

To discover the order which inheres in things rather
than to impose an order upon them, to strengthen
and perpetuate that order rather than to dispose
things anew according to some formula which may
be nothing more than a fashion, to legislate along the
grain of human nature rather than against it, to pur-
sue limited objectives with a watchful eye, to amend
here, to prune there, in short, to preserve the
method of nature in the conduct of the state , ,
this is Conservatism

JO CONSERVATISM rM AMERICA

Society must be stable Although men can never hope
to see their community completely stable, they can create
an endurable condition of peace and order To achieve
this great end of order— without which, a* Richard
Hooker wrote long ago, "there ts no living in public so-
ciety'*— they must work unceasingly for a community
that has tills ideal appearance
Common agreement on fundamentals exists among
men of all ranks and stations Loyalty, good will, fraternal
sympathy, and a feeling for compromise pervade the po-
litical and social scene.

Institutions and groups are in functional adjustment,
the social order is the outward expression of an inner,
largely uncocrccd harmony Political, economic, social,
and cultural power Is widely diffused among persons,
groups, and other instruments, these are held by law,
custom, and constitution in a state of operating equilib-
rium For every show of power there is corresponding
responsibility A minimum of friction and maximum of
accommodation exist between government and group,
government and individual, group and individual.

The authority of each group and instrument, and es-
pecially of the government, is legitimate. The laws honor
the traditions of the nation, ore adjusted to the capacities
of the cibzenry, meet the requirements of natural justice,
and satisfy the needs of society Men obey the laws cheer-
fully and readily, and they know why they obey them
They know, too, the difference between authority and
authoritarianism, and are thankful that the former helps
to govern their lives

Men are secure, they have a sense of being, belonging,
and creating Their labors are rewarded, their sorrows
comforted, then needs satisfied They have the deep feel-
ing of serenity that arises not merely from material well-
being, but from confidence In the future, from daily con-
tact with decent and trustworthy men, and from partici-
pation in an even-handed system of justice Predictability,
morality, and equity are important ingredients of this con-
dition of security Most important, however, is ordered
liberty, which makes it possible for men to pursue their

THE CONSERVATIVE tradition

31

talents and tastes within a sheltering framework of rights
and duties

Change and reform are sure-footed, discriminating, and
respectful of the past "Men breathe freely,” as F. E Des-
sauer puts it, "because change is limited The
changes which are taking place do not frighten the af-
fected *

Unity, harmony, authority, security, continuity- — these
are the key elements of social stability In longing for a
society m which peace and order reign, the Conservative
comes closest to the utopianism that he ridicules in others

The Conservative’s ideas about government display an
unusual degree of symmetry, and he is rarely stumped
by practical questions about its nature, structure, and
purpose These ideas are not, in one sense, especially pro-
found Reluctant theorist that he is, he prefers to li\e with
contradictions (such as that between liberty and author-
ity) and to ignore nasty questions (such as that of sover-
eignty) with which men who like their doctrines neat are
feverishly concerned Yet, if pushed hard enough by the
challenges of such men, he can find a great many things
to say about politics For example, in discussing the na-
ture of government, he likes to point out to radicals that
it is natural rather than artificial, to individualists that It
is good rather than evil, and to collectivists that it is
limited rather than unlimited in potentialities and
scope

Man, he insists, is a political as well as social animal,
government is necessary to his existence as man The con-
cept of the social contract may ha\e some lingering value
as the symbol of consent, hut the origin of government
cannot possibly be explained in mechanistic terms Gov-
ernment, like the family out of which it arose, is nature’s
unforced answer to tuneless human needs. Natural in
ongra, it is also natural in development Like society, xt
Is a tree rather than a machine Laws and institutions are
the result of centuries of imperceptible growth, not the
work of one generation of constitution-makers A new
constitution will not last long unless it Incorporates a

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

l*

good part of the old, most successful reforms in the pat-
tern of government are recognitions of prescriptive
changes that have already taken place

Government is a positive, if not entirely unmixed, bless-
ing for which men can thank wise Providence, not a neces-
sary evil for which they can blame their own moral in-
sufficiencies Even if men were angels, some political or-
ganization would be necessary to adjust the complexity
of angelic relations and to do for the citizens of heaven-on-
earth what they could not do as individuals or families
Government serves genuine purposes that cannot be ful-
filled by any other means Any time-honored instrument
that is so essential to man’s liberty and security cannot be
considered inherently evil

Government serves many purposes but not all For
example, no government can ever act as a proper substi-
tute for the other intrinsic institutions — family, church,
neighborhood, occupational association Nor can it be en-
tirely successful m its own area of operation, since, m
Lord Hadsham's words, "there are inherent limitations on
what may be achieved by political means." The most obsti-
nate of these limitations is, of course, the imperfect na-
ture of man In addition, law and administration find un-
breachable limits in the rights of men, which exist inde-
pendently of the will and favor of government, and in the
existence of lesser groups and institutions, some of which
are as natural and indestructible as government itself
There are, m short, many things that government simply
cannot do — by right or by nature

The Conservative's view of the imperfect nature of
man, especially his awareness of man’s corruptibility,
leads him to issue several sharp warnings about the pat-
tern of government In the first place, it must be constitu-
tional The discretion of men in power must be reduced
to the lowest level consistent with effective operation of
the political machinery Rulers and ruled alike must re-
spect the sanctity of constitutional limits The great serv-
ice of constitutionalism, the Conservative says, is that it
forces men to think, talk, and compromise before they
act Every constitution is both a grant of power and a cat-

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 33

alogue of limitations, the best constitutions lay stress on
the second of these purposes

Next, power must be diffused and balanced. Govern-
ment must not sway with every breeze that seems to
blow from the direction of the people The power to act
in response to popular whims and demands must be di-
vided horizontally among a senes of independent organs
and agencies, and vertically between two or more levels
of government The diffusion of power puts a brake on the
urge for wholesale reform At the same time, it is the
most trustworthy limit on abuses of authority Once power
has been diffused, the institutions that share in it must be
placed m balance Equilibrium is the mark of stable gov-
ernment, just as it is of stable society, and the essence of
eqmlibnum is mutual restraint and ultimate unity.

Finally, a government must be representative Repre-
sentation is more than a pragmatic answer to the problem
of popular government in an extended area The ancient
system under which the people elect representatives to
make all laws except the constitution and all decisions ex-
cept as to their own continuance in office is justified
by these considerations ft, too, delays decision and frus-
trates whimsical change It permits debate and compro-
mise to take place under optimum conditions, and thus
gives reason and candor a chance to be beard Most im-
portant, it institutionalizes the urge for aristocracy Rep-
resentation, ideally considered, is a means of assuring the
leadership of the best men in the community, a remarkable
contrivance through which ordinary men may aclileve
extraordinary government

Limitations, diffusion, balance, representation —
through these techniques the Conserv alive seeks the influ-
ence of majority rule He is deeply concerned about the
potential tyranny of the unrestrained majority While he
knows no better way of making political decisions In a
modem community, he insists that the majority be cool-
beaded, persistent, and overwhelming, and that it recog.
mze those things it cannot do by nght or might At best a
reluctant democrat when he looks out upon society, he is
even more reluctant when he turns to consider the role of

34 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

the people m government. He knows that he lives in the
twentieth century, yet he rejoices that it is, politically
speaking, still somewhat of a prisoner to the eighteenth
Government, in the Conservative view, is something
like fire. Under control, it is the most useful of servants,
out of control, it is a ravaging tyrant The danger of its
getting out of control is no argument against its extended
and generous use Held within proper limits, government
answers all these purposes

It defends the community against external assault
It is the symbol of unity, the focus of that patriotic fer-
vor which turns a lumpy mass ot men and groups into a
living unity

It establishes and administers an equitable system of
justice, which alone makes it possible for men to live and
do business with one another

It protects men against the violence they can do one
another By die judicious use of force, it ensures “domes-
tic tranquillity”

It secures the rights of men, including the right of prop-
erty, against the assaults of hcense, anarchy, and jealousy.

It adjusts conflicts among groups and regulates their
activities, thus acting as the major equilibrating force m
the balance of social forces

It promotes public and private morality, without which
freedom cannot long exist In league with church and
family, it strives to separate men’s virtues from their vices
and to keep the latter under tight rein It does all this by
encouraging or at least protecting organized religion, by
supporting the means of education, by enacting laws
against vice, and by offering a high example of justice
and rectitude

It aids men in their pursuit of happiness, chiefly by re-
moving obstacles in the path of individual development
Finally, government acts as a humanitarian agency in
cases of clear necessity It relieves human suffering by
acts of care and chantv, and in more developed commu-
nities it may guarantee each citizen the minimum mate-
rial requirements of a decent existence In discharging
this function, government operates under three clear re-

TOT CONSERVATIVE TRADITION

35

strict! ons. First, it can achieve only limited success as a
welfare agency As Burke himself said in a slightly differ-
ent contest, *The laws reach but a \ cry Lttle way " Many
of man's ills, especially those that are spiritual in nature,
are not curable b) legislation Second, it must do its good
works of chanty and philanthropy at the lowest and most
personal le\cls Third, there is, as Peter Viereck insists, a
"line of diminishing returns for humamta nanism Beyond
it, the increase in secunty is less than the loss in liberty "
The humanitarian function of government will always re-
main secondary to its great duties to ensure tranquilbty,
establish justice, secure nghts and property, and raise
the level of morality

The Conservative neither fears nor worships the politi-
cal state He hopes that these functions wall be discharged
justly, virtuously, and with a minimum of compulsion or
interference with the lives of men He can get as angry as
any okl fashioned Liberal at the inefficiencies and petty
tyrannies of bureaucracy Yet he attaches too much im-
portancc to political authonty and activity ever to fall
prey, even when his party is out of power, to the simple
doctrine that the best government is the least and the
least government the best One mark of the best govern-
ment, to be sure, is that it employs the least force, but
the reduction of force,, which Ortega considered the es-
sence of civilization, is a problem of reforming men, not of
limiting the size or scope of government.

Man’s place in society, especially his relations to govern-
ment, presents a continuing problem on which the Con-
servative refuses to take a doctrinaire stand. In general,
he tries to stnke a workable compromise between the
needs of the co mm unit) and the nghts of the individual,
both of which he champions eloquently whenever they
are ignored or despised

In the world as it is, the world in which men Lve, it is
often necessary to make a hard choice between individ-
ual and community In such instances, the Conservative
saw, the interests of the community come first This does
not mean that every instance of friction will be resolved in

56 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

favor of society, nor does it mean disrespect for the dig-
nity of man’s person or the inviolability of his soul It does
mean that society, the individual's fellow men considered
as a collective entity, must get first consideration m a *l
difficult cases If the community is visibly decayed or
arbitrary, the margin of doubt swings to the individual
As a general principle, however, it must never be forgot-
ten that man is no better than a lonely beast outside the
educating, protecting, civilizing pale of society, and that
he must therefore pay a stiff pnce for its blessings Many
philosophers have denied that man has natural rights,
none has denied that he has natural needs, which can be
filled only through communal association with other men
Society, the total community, which is a great deal more
than government, is historically, ethically, and logically
superior to the individual Government, family, church,
and countrymen past, present, and future — how can it
ever be asserted with candor that any one man is more
valuable than these? Even m the age of massness and me-
diocrity, of big government and big democracy, the Con-
servative speaks, when he speaks with the voice of Burke,
of the primacy of society

Yet he speaks, too, of the rights of man If man has
needs that force him to submit to the community, he also
has rights that the community must honor In every man
there is a sphere of personality and activity into which
other men, whether private citizens or public officials,
have no logical or moral claim to intrude This area is la-
beled "the rights of man ”

These rights are both natural and social — natural be-
cause they belong to man as man, are part of the great
scheme of nature, and are thus properly considered the
gift of God, social because man can enjoy them only m
an organized community The rights that men in fact en-
joy have developed through centuries of struggle to a
point where they are recognized and enforced by law
The great rights, that is to say, are more than natural or
social They are legal, constitutional, and historical The
Conservative has a notably concrete concept of human
nghts, and he avoids describing or justifying them in ab-

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 37

stract, philosophical terns Indeed, his favorite adjective
for describing his rights is "hard-earned *

While the catalogue of rights reads differently in each
country, life, liberty, and property shll form the irreduc-
ible minimum that must be honored everywhere The
nght to life is grounded on the eternal truth that man is
end not means He has the nght not merely to exist but
to live, he must he looked upon by his fellows as no less
than a man The nght to liberty means that he has the
nght to act and think as he pleases so long as this does
not impinge on the rights of other men From original lib-
erty flow the freedoms of conscience, association, expres-
sion, and movement, as well as the rights to justice and to
the pursuit of happiness Man has no nght to happiness,
but he does have die nght to pursue it with all the ener-
gies and talents God has given him. Each man must de-
fine happiness in his own terms, though this condition
— a fleeting thing at best — must bring satisfaction of
mind, body, and spurt, all three Finally, man has the
nght to acquire, hold, use, and dispose of property, as
well as to enjoy the fruits that he reaps from it Tlus nght,
like the others, is the cutting edge of a powerful instinct
m human nature

The Conservative refuses to make the easy, he would
say demagogic, distinction between "human rights" and
“property rights " Property, in his view, is a human nght,
as important to man’s existence and improvement as
any other nght It is therefore to be honored without
quibble and championed without reserve He is well
aware that he bucks the fade of modem democracy, that
in placing property at the side of a free conscience or even
of life itself he lays himself open to the charge of matenal-
ism His defense is the one he always throws up when the
guns of the sentimental Left are “zeroed in” on his posi-
tion He is dealing with man as man is, not with man as
the Left would like him to be In addition, the Conserva-
tive advances these justifications of the institution of pri-
vate property

Property makes it possible for a man to develop in mind
and spirit Tools, house, land, clothes, books, heirlooms —

3 8 COVStXVATrtM P< AMM»CA

how can anyone deny that these are as essential as the air
to man'* growth to maturity and wisdom’

Property make* ft possible for a man to be free * n "*
pendcnce and privacy can never be enjoyed by one who
must rely on other persons or agencies— especially govem-
ment — for food, shelter, and material comforts Property
gives him a place on which to stand and make free
choices, it grants him a sphere in which he may ignore the
state

Property is the most important tingle technique for the
diffusion of economic power

Property is essentia! to the existence of tlie family, the
natural unit of society

Property provides the main incentive for productive
work Human nature being what it is and always will be,
the desire to acquire and held property « essential to
progress

Final!}, property is a powerful conservative agent, giv-
ing added support and substance to that temperament
which helps to stabilize society.

The Conservative defense of private property is roost
certainly not a defense of its abuse, neglect, or existence
In grotesque forms and exaggerated concentrations Nor
is it primarily a defense of industrial capitalism or large-
scale private enterprise. Few Conservatives will assert,
certainly in their most detaches! and Burkean moments,
that any particular system of production and distribution
is, like pnvate property, rooted in the nature of things
and men

The man who has rights also has duties Bights are at
bottom simply claims upon other men. and the law of
equilibrium commands thoso who make claims to be ready
to pay for them In return for the chance to enjoy his
rights in a community, a man has the obligation to use
these rights responsibly The right to lifo carries with it
the duty to live morally Freedom of conscience is
matched by the duty to think wisely and worship deco-
rously Freedom of association calls on men to give back
in full measure what they get from their fellows No right
carries with it greater obligations than the possession of

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION

39

property, which is a legacy from the past, a power in the
present, and a trust for the future
The final price of freedom is self-discipline and self-re-
straint In the familiar words of Edmund Burke

Society cannot exist unless a controlling power of
will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less
of it there is within, the more there must be without
It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things,
that men of intemperate minds cannot he free Their
passions forge their fetters

And m the refreshingly plain-spoken words of Harry
Cideonse

Freedom is not the absence of discipline, but it calls
for discipline by internal constraint in contrast with
the external police control of totaktanamsm When
you throw a man in the water, his freedom does not
express itself by merely splashing around He can be
free in the water only because he has learned to
swim, that is to say, only because he subjects himself
to a form of discipline, and a blend of self-suppres-
sion and self-assertion The ideas of freedom.
Self-control, and balance are inextricably interwoven

This is a profoundly Conservative view of the ethics of
liberty So, too, is the insistence of Raymond English on
"the relation between the belief in an obligatory moral or-
der and the possibility of freedom ”

The heretical view of freedom, the assumption that
it means the independent choices made by the pri-
vate and self-sufficient wills of individuals, leads to
the demoralization of the person and the paralysis of
decision m a society, whereas the concept of free-
dom as service to eternal and infinite purposes and
laws produces firmness, self-confidence and expan-
sion of energy in individuals and communities
The fact is that the Conservative has never wandered
far from the definition of liberty as "service" to God's
word

4 o CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Stand fast therefore In the liberty wherewith Chnst

hath made us free

The Conservative's thoughts pbout “man End the state
are neither extreme nor simple. Whether the state be de-
fined as the entire society or as that part of it known as
government, no fundamental antithesis or conflict exists
between it and man Society is essential to his physical
and spiritual existence, government serves him as the
chief agent of society “Man against the state” is either an
outlaw, mgrate, or anarchist There is, to be sure, a basic
conflict of interest between the good man and the corrupt
or authoritarian state Such a man may well find it neces-
sary to assert an extreme individualism by rebelling
against such a state Yet this is only the first step to politi-
cal redemption from there he must go on to rebuild a
state that will honor his rights and personality Dad govern-
ment is to be corrected, and if totally bad to be resisted,
but bad government is no argument against the existence
of government itself

It should be plain from this passage and from other
observations in this chapter that the Conservative, con-
trary to popular belief, is not an extreme individualist He
may be willing to concede numerous arguments of the un-
qualified individualists, for neither his own respect for the
dignity of the individual nor his dislike of the busy-body
state is surpassed by that of any man Yet he cannot
agree to the full implications of individualism, which is
based, so be thinks, on an incorrect appraisal of man, soci-
ety, history, and government In his own way, the full-
blooded individualist is as much a perfectionist as the so-
cialist, and with perfectionism the Conservative can
have no truck.

In particular, the Conservative refuses to go all the way
with economic individualism His distrust of unfettered
man, his devotion to groups, his sense of the complexity
of the social process, his recognition of the real services
that government can perform — all these sentiments make
it impossible for him to subscribe whole-heartedly to the
dogmas and shibboleths of economic individualism lais-

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 41

sez-faire, the negative state, enlightened self-interest, the
law of supply and demand, the profit motive While the
Conservative may occasionally have hind words for each
of these nobons, especially when he hears them derided
by collecbvists and bluepnnters, he is careful to qualify
his support by stating other, more important social truths.
For example, while he does not for a moment deny the
prominence of the profit motive, he insists that it be rec-
ognized for the selfish thing it is and be kept within rea-
sonable, socially imposed limits

At the same time that he expresses doubts about un-
qualified laissez-faire, the Conservative expresses horror
over unqualified socialsim If pressed for a precise solu-
tion to the problem of government and the economy, if
asked to draw a fine line between their respective spheres,
he answers that precise solutions and fine lines are cruel
and dangerous delusions Between collectivism and lais-
sez-faire there are many possible points of temporary ad-
justment The stable, just, and productive economy is a
mixture of individual enterprise, group co-operahon, and
government regulabon according to the traditions and
needs of each people Beyond this the undoctnnaire Con-
servabve refuses to pursue the issue, except to preach
again from his favonte text in regulating the economy
in the public interest government cannot by rght treat
men unjustly and cannot by nature solve all or even a
majority of their problems In this matter, as in most mat-
ters of human relations and culture, he urges us to take
note of "the inadequacy of politics "

The Conservabve is alert to the dangers, extravagance,
and clumsiness of government If men can accomplish com-
mon social ends without its intervention, so much the bet-
ter for all concerned He is not prepared, however, to rush
from skepbcism of collective effort and detestabon of ab-
solubsm into the delusive swamps of anarchy He hates
unjust coercion of any sort, and he knows that govern-
ment, for all its imperfecbons, is the instrument best fitted
to reduce the coercions visited upon one another by im-
perfect men “Man against the state," "man the creature of
the state "—neither of these cheap formulas is acceptable

42 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

to the Conservative He likes to think of man and the state
together in a relationship that honors the needs and rights
of each Between statism and individualism lies the mid'
die way of ordered liberty

Conservatism, the Conservative never fares of saying, is
something more than a bundle of political and social prin-
ciples It is faith, mood, sentiment, bias, temper, it is a
wondrous mosaic of opinions about man’s essence and ex-
penence Having scanned the pohbcal and social theory
of Conservatism, we must now consider the Conservatives
attitude toward religion, history, and higher law, and de-
scribe his mood and mission These elements of Conserva-
tism give it the special flavor that distinguishes it from all
other isms

The mortar that holds together the mosaic of Conserva-
tism u religious feeling The first canon of Conservative
thought, Russell Kirk writes, is the "belief that a dinne in-
tent rules society as well as conscience " Man Is the child
of God and is made in His image Society, government,
family, church — all are divine or divinely willed Author-
ity, liberty, morality, rights, duties — all are "strengthened
with the strength of religion * "Religion," Coleridge re-
marked, "is and ever has been the center of gravity in ®
realm, to which all other things must and will accommo-
date themselves " From this belief Conservatism has never
wandered Those Conservatives who have doubted (and
some of the greatest have fallen well short of unquestion-
ing orthodoxy) have suppressed or surmounted their
doubts in order to uphold the most powerful of conserva-
tive influences Agnosticism is occasionally permissible,
indifference never No Conservative can afford to be cas-
ual about religion Those pobtical or cultural conserva-
tives who are indifferent are to that extent— and a goodly
extent it is — imperfect Conservatives

In this matter the Conservative should speak for him-
self It would be impossible, and perhaps indecent, to
paraphrase the eloquence with which he states the mean-
ing of our religious heritage None of these statements, be
it noted. Is in any sense an apology for clericalism

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION

43

Edmund Burke*

We know, and it is our pride to know, that man is by
his constitution a religious animal . We know,
and what is better, we inwardly feel, that religion is
the basis of civil society, and the source of all good,
and of all comfort

Benjamin Disraeli

The spiritual nature of man is stronger than codes
or constitutions No government can endure which
does not recognize that for its foundation, and no
legislation last which does not flow from that foun-
tain The principle may develop itself in manifold
forms, in the shape of many creeds and many
churches But the principle is divine.

R.J White

Respect for, and defence of, religion is no monop-
oly of the Conservative tradition The Conservative
tradition at its best, however, does avow steadily and
intelligently the primacy of religion m human affairs,
its mdispensability to any adequate account of social
cohesion among civilised peoples, and its sovereign
power as a criticism and a check upon secular govern-
ments

And finally, Peter Viereck

The churches . draw the fangs of the Noble
Savage and clip his ignoble claws By so doing, and
when and if they practice what they preach, they
are performing their share of the conservative func-
tion of spanning the gap between the cave man and
society Marx gave the ablest summary of the issue
when he dreaded religion as “the opiate of the peo-
ple”— that is, the tamer, pacifier, civilizer of the
people

The Conservative is probably happiest when he has an
established church to serve and defend, yet he honors his

44 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

nation’s traditional solution to the problem of church aud
state Like other men, he has his own ideas about the ex-
act nature of that solution As he is not a clericalist, so he
is not a secularist, he suspects men who call too loudly
and angrily for an "unbreachable wall between church
and state” In any case, he cherishes religious feeling,
and thus institutionalized religion, as foundation of stabil-
ity, cement of unity, patron of morality, check upon
power, and spur to compassion It is, in fine, the greatest
of all civilizing forces

The Conservative’s reverence for God is matched by
his respect for history, and thus for those traditions of his
community that have stood the test of time Out of the
past — protean, mysterious, immemorial — have come the
values and institutions that have hfted man far above his
nature. History is the creator of all the Conservative holds
dear, and in the logic of its glacial progress he detects the
hand of Cod Not every great step in his country’s past
must be accorded veneration or even respect There have
been events in history, as there are now traditions that
stem from them, that are impossible to square with the
Conservative’s prudential knowledge of nght and wrong,
and he refuses adamantly to be a slave to either history or
tradition Still, he does have a solid prejudice for the past
and its fruits that marks him off sharply from the question-
ing Liberal

History, in any case, is man’s most reliable teacher It
js not "bunk,” not a pack of tncks played on the dead by
the living or on the living by the dead It is a mirror in
which each nation can find an honest image, a book m
which it can read the awesome truth The nature and ca-
pacities of man, the purposes and dangers of government,
the ongms and limits of change — we Ieam these things
best, the Conservative insists, by studying the past With-
out the teachings of men and events, without the tradi-
tions that institutionalize these teachings, what resources
could we draw upon m the struggle for civilized sur-
vival?

The Conservative considers history his special pre-
serve James Harvey Robinson brought history to the

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 45

support of Radicalism by asserting that it justified confi-
dence m a future shaped by and for good men, but the
Conservative would note grimly that Robinson published
his New History in 191a His own sense of history, deeply
though not despairingly tragic, has been fortified by the
events of Eve brutal decades In the record of this cen-
tury, as in the record of the whole past, the Conservative
reads of wickedness, folly, misery, and failure, of the cruel
delusion of promises of Utopia, of the tyranny of force,
the weakness of reason, the fragility of liberty, of the in-
evitable decay of his own civilization Yet he reads, too, of
the civilized lives that a few men in all nations and many
men in a few nations have achieved by honoring God,
trusting their neighbors, respecting traditions, and prac-
ticing virtue History teaches the Conservative to doubt
grimly but not despair absolutely

Reverence for God and respect for history unite to form
a third element of the Conservative tradition the higher
law Some Conservatives have been reluctant to embrace
this ancient belief, for they have seen it put to effective
use by more than one band of tradition-shattering revolu-
tionists. Most, however, have been drawn into the great
company of believers in the higher law, which they trace
to God and, at the same tune, find revealed in history.
There are some things, they assert, that men and govern-
ments have no right to do When asked to state just what
it is that forbids these things, they respond with some such
phrase as “the law of nature,” "the moral law,” "the uni-
versal moral order,” or "the dictates of justice " In Con-
servative literature the higher law appears m these guises

A set of moral standards governing private conduct
the irreducible essence of these standards appears to be
the Golden Rule

A system of abstract justice to which the laws of men
must conform positive law that runs counter to a people’s
instinctive seme of right and wrong is not only bad law
but no law at alL

A line of demarcation around the allowable sphere
of government activity, governments cannot push into the
area reserved to the individual or intrinsic group, nor can

46

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

they exercise their legitimate powers in an arbitrary or
unjust manner

A tiny but infinitely precious handful of human rights
life, liberty, and property have a sanction that transcends
human law

The commands of the higher law find their chief sup-
port in history The Conservative can demonstrate, at least
to his own satisfaction, that prosperity and happiness are
the lot of men who obey this law, adversity and sadness
the lot of men who do not In the end, these commands
reduce to two self-evident principles of civilized free-
dom man must treat other men as he would have them
treat him, governments must exercise their limited author-
ity with ev en-handed justice

In addition to the standard virtues, which he preaches to
all men, the Conservative cultivates certain qualities of
mind and character that he likes to think of as his own
property The faithful practice of these qualities sets him
08 sharply from other men dedicated to other isms
Whether many Conservatives do practice them faithfully
is a point to be argued, but this account of Conservatism
would not be complete were we to leave these high prin-
ciples unrecorded Let it be clearly understood that the
almost excessive idealism of the next few pages is some-
thing for which the Conservative is himself responsible
These qualities fuse into what we may call “the Con-
servative temper ” It is a powerful cast of mind and heart,
one that we must sense and comprehend, for it shapes the
Conservative s whole attitude toward life and society His
political theory, to take the most pertinent example, is in
many ways simply an intellectual rendering of this spirit
or disposition The Conservative temper, which is some-
thing more elevated and spacious than mere tempera-
mental conservatism, is a subtle synthesis of reverence,
traditionalism, distaste for materialism, high morality,
moderation, peacefulness, and the aristocratic spint
The Conservative has a feeling of “deep respect tinged
with awe” for authority, history, law, institutions, and tra-
dition By his own admission, he is moved profoundly by

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 47

love, of his fellow men, which is at bottom an expression
of his love of God Unable to voice the fullness of this rev-
erence for man and community in words of his own mak-
ing, he leans heavily upon ntual and symbolism

Reverence for history appears in the Conservative
spint as unabashed traditionalism It is the Conservative
who weeps at Gettysburg or Dunkirk, the Conservative
who gets goose flesh when the band plays the national
anthem, the Conservative who joins societies for the
preservation of old ways, names, and houses While he
maintains stoutly that genuine patriotism involves a good
deal more than reciting pledges to the flag and paying
dues to a half-dozen leagues and orders, he is not afraid
to acknowledge a feeling of sheer sentiment for the mys-
tery and majesty of his nation’s past

The Conservative, so he says, places moral above mate-
rial values and ends He holds it more important to
sharpen men's minds and lift up their spirits than to glut
their bellies and relieve their toils, more necessary to ad-
vance intellectually and spiritually than materially and
technologically He is far from being an ascetic, he knows
that we must pay a price in ancient values for toothpaste,
toilets, and touring cars But ho insists that the pnce be no
more than the sensitive spirit can bear, that vulgarity, im-
morality, and mediocrity be prevented from sweeping the
country If it comes down to a final choice between
a cherished value and a new labor-saving gadget, the Con-
servative will choose without hesitation for tradition and
discomfort A high standard of living is only one, and by
no means the most significant, of the tests by which the
greatness of a nation is to be judged The state of culture,
learning, law, chanty, and morality are of more concern
to the Conservative than the annual output of steel and
aluminum

The shady deal, the shoddy job, the easy way out, the
cheap tnck, the fast bargain— the Conservative is never
happier than when he is expressing his loathing f or these
evidences of moral softness The urge to do right, and to
do it up to the limits of one's ability, is ingrained ca £j
spirit He takes seriously the preaching of parents,

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

48

and pulpit If he errs in his ways, as he, too, does more
often than he should, he is robbed of the fruits of wrong-
doing by a highly developed conscience. The Conserva-
tive temper is duty-conscious and righteous altogether.

The Conservative is a moderate, a man who shuns ex-
tremes, whether of belief, behavior, taste, or speech Cer-
tain of his beliefs may be classed as absolutes, but he ex-
presses them and acts upon them with reticence and pru-
dence. Neither joyfully optimistic nor darkly pessimistic,
he keeps tight reign on his emotions and is content to live
and let live In this as in most things, he seeks the golden
mean Other men may have to choose between abstinence
and dipsomania, he takes quiet pride in temperate enjoy-
ment. lake Milton's Penseroso, a genuine Conservative,
he admires and emulates those who are “sober, steadfast,
and demure" That is also a fair description of what he
likes— and he usually “knows what he likes”— in art,
music, and poetry

Nothing is more foreign to the Conservative cast of
auna than lawless violence The Conservative's whole na-
ture revolts against the cruelty, Unpredictability, and in-
adequacy of brute force as a solution to problems of hu-
man relations He does not seek peace at all costs, but he
seeks it with all his powers

The most important element in the Conservative tem-
per is me aristocratic spirit Although many modem Con-
servatives have abandoned the belief in a fixed aristoc-
racy, their mood is one in which the urge to lead and
serve, to set and honor high standards, and to grade both
men and values remains strong to the point of dominance
, auUlcnhc Conservative, more often than not a man
of average means, is revolted almost beyond endurance by
plutocracy, moved almost to tears by noblesse obhee.

Not merely in England, where the division between
“a country u an ancient and influential fact, but
am ng ail nations this temper seems to anse more natu-
U Wh ° hVG 0a *** hnd Conservative

fn,?Lf eld k.? 6 pnn “ of Conservatives Perhaps tins is
W,tel USe Pa5t 13 “° re VMible fa *«> country, per-
haps because reverence and moderation come mom easily

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION

49

to uncrowded and unhurried men, perhaps because the
land is one land of property a man can love without shame
and defend without guilt Another reason may be that
temperamental conservatism, the hard core of the Con-
servative temper, is especially marked in the man who
‘‘holdeth the plow and whose talk is of bullocks”
In any case, it does seem true that the land is the great
nursery of the Conservative cast of mind

The Conservative, like other men, lives in the real
world He, too, must think on his feet, make hard choices
between moral alternatives, and act on imperfect knowl-
edge. He, too, must make a living The Conservative
in action — the administrator, politician, entrepreneur,
teacher, or farmer — cannot go around all the time mum-
bling epigrams about reverence and righteousness

Conservative literature talks about this real world and
its problems with refreshing candor and indifference to
charges of inconsistency Having called upon his fellows
to behave like saints in heaven, or at worst like monks in a
cloister, the Conservative turns nght around to advise
them how to face the problems of daily exist* nee m a
rough, fast-moving world This they can do most effec-
tively, he seems to say, by being “practical men,” men
more concerned with the possible than the desirable, with
the real than the abstract, with facts and figures than
hopes and wishes Realism, common sense, adaptability,
expediency, respect for unpleasant facts — these, appar-
ently, are the elements the moral anatomist will discover
when he lays bare the everyday mind of the Conserva-
tive

Pervading all these, and bridging the gap between the
spiritual and practical sides of Conservatism, is a healthy
distrust of pure reason Indeed, some writers find tins
“noble prejudice" at the center of the Conservative
tradition Stanley Pargelhs, for example, reduces the
cleavage between Conservatism and Liberalism to

the philosophic distinction between empiricism and
rationalism, as two of the ways of knowing, of arriv-
ing at truth The rationalist proves a proposition by
appealing to abstract and universal principles, the

50

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

empiricist by appealing to concrete and particular oc-
currences The rationalist or the liberal frames his
political decisions in accordance with some theory
derived from an abstract notion of universal truth,
the conservative takes into consideration an ex-
tremely wide variety of acts, and, bearing in mind his
principles and his ends, comes to the best decision
he can

While this distinction seems a little too pat, it does
point up the Conservatives distrust of abstract specula-
tion, especially of speculation aimed at ancient ways and
natural urges, and of those who engage m it, especially
from the privileged sanctuary of the ivied tower Russell
Kirk once expressed a sentiment in which almost all Con-
servatives indulge from time to time when he wrote

When a man is both a professor and an intellectual,
he is loathsome, when he is professor and intellec-
tual and ideologist rolled into one, he is unbearable

Harsh words from a man, neither loathsome nor unbear-
able, who answers all these job-descnpbons, yet they do
express the Conservative’s deep suspicion of the untram-
meled mind — often benevolent in purpose, he thinks, but
almost never in influence Conservatism first arose to do
i men who used pore reason to tear down and
rebuild whole systems, and the Conservative remains
convinced that, m Thomas Cooks words, "excessive reli-
ance on human reason, functioning deductively and a
pnorf on a foundation of abstract principle," is a major
threat to stability and progress As Ross Hoffman has put
the matter.

Of all the vices, conservatives hate presumption
most and fear nothing so much as proud, naked hu-
man reason fascinated by doctrinaire abstractions and
rising up against an order of things which it has not
understood

While the Conservative honors reason as one of man’s
most precious gifts, he considers it a "useful tool in the

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION

5i

realm of instrumentality” that must be handled with pru-
dence and skepticism It must be applied within the lim-
its of history, facts, and human nature as we know all
these to be, it must be squared with the inherited wisdom
of the community and the sound instincts of the virtuous
man The rationalism of Aristotle is the Conservative’s de-
light, the rationalism of Descartes his despair And not
even that land of reason, the very best brand of empiri-
cism, can give men a complete picture of reality The
Conservative is far less of a pragmatist than he is often
thought to be Intuition and tradition loom importantly in
his epistemology

The Conservative is a man with a mission Like all men of
good will, he pledges himself to defend the community
against attack, protect the rights of individuals, raise the
level of knowledge and morality, and defy arbitrary
power In addition, he sets himself these solemn and
often thankless tasks

To defend the established order The Conservative ful-
fills the first part of his mission by resisting reforms that
might smash or w eaken the foundations of the community,
by himself engineering readjustments in the superstruc-
ture that can no longer be put off without damage to the
foundations, and by warning reformers of the hidden dan-
gers m their proposals He agrees with Agnes Repplier
that "resistance is essential to orderly advance " and with
Lord Hugh Cecil that “progress depends on conservatism
to make it intelligent, efficient, and appropriate to circum-
stance” His aim, therefore, is to domesticate the reform-
ers, to assure that change is also progress In understand-
ing that preservation may occasionally call for reform and
m demonstrating a willingness to undertake such reform
himself, the Conservative proves himself to be neither
standpatter nor reactionary Deep in his heart, however,
he will always rouse to Samuel Johnson’s observation
that “most schemes of political improvement are very
laughable things ”

To identify and protect the real values of the commu-
nity The true Conservative, it appears from his journals

5 *

COVJZKVATIJM LV AMEXtCA

of opinion, Is locked fn continuous battle with the spokes-
men for moral relativism, the preachers of cultural egali-
tarianism, the cheapcncm of good taste, and the vulgariz-
es of honest sentiment

To act as trustee for the community: The spirit of trus-
teeship— the sense of receiving a precious heritage and
handing It on intact and perhaps even slightly strength-
ened— pervades Conservatism Edmund Burke spoke of
English liberty “as an entailed Inheritanec derived to us
from our forefathers, and to be transmitted to our poster-
ity. and Raymond Motcy has warned tis, "We are not
creators, we are trustees Wc serve In an endless succes-
sion of watches at the citadel of liberty " It Is the sense of
trusteeship, of power as well as of tradition, that makes
statesmen out of politicians, squires out of landlords, aris-
tocrats out of plutocrats, and Conservatives out of conserv-
atives

To remind men of their sins, weaknesses, and imperfec-
tions This is not a pleasant or popular task, and many
Conservatives In active pohtics have muffed it rather
badly Yet It does seem clearly a Conservative duty to
rebut the preachers of human perfectibility and to chal-
engc all doctrines and programs that assume a high level
of general intelligence and morality.

To serve as champion of organized religion The Con-
servative is aware that religion cannot be a real force fn
the community unless men of all classes and philosophies
are convinced of its truth and ments He none the less
eels that he can male a special contribution to the
strengtheiung of religion by supporting all respectable
churches and by serving his own It is his business once
ogam to assert the importance of institutions, in this in-
stance to remind men that widespread religious feeling
cannot exist for long apart from ntual, discipline, and or-
ganization *

To serve as champion of private property The Con-
£7* ^ ve . tra<1, 1 t,on P hces emphasis o n property as

££*** and , socia] S«>d The Conservative is
therefore bound to defend ,t stoutly, especially against

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 53

those who consider it a subsidiary right that must give
way to all plans for “social progress "

To foster social stability The Conservative does his part
m maintaining social stability by adopting a posture of
stanch anti-radicalism in private and public life, by preach-
ing and practicing trust and moderation, by insisting upon
the pnmacy of tradition and the community, and by play-
mg the game of politics in as mature a manner as possible
He observes the antics of the demagogue with particular
loathing because of the havoc this wretched fellow wreaks
upon the delicate balance of human relations He is at his
very best when, rising above the passions of the moment,
he refuses to have any truck with the demagogue of the
Right

To foster the spint of unity among men of all classes
and callings In his ceaseless campaign for unity the Con-
servative does his patriotic best to play down “the so-
called class struggle," to play up the existence of common
agreement on fundamentals, to practice the arts of com-
promise, to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate,
and to encourage love of country His "patriotic best," to
be sure, rests on a firm foundation of self-interest, for he
is rarely to be found at the bottom of the class structure
The Conservative mission is just that a mission, not a
crusade Occasionally a Conservative on the stump poses
as Richard the Lion-Hearted, but he knows — and his audi-
ence knows, too — that it is a pose, that he is acting quite
out of character The genuine Conservative is not a cru-
sader, he goes upon his mission not zealously but dutifully
In the final reckoning, the reckoning of history, the es-
sence of that mission is to make revolution impossible —
and also unnecessary As Henry Kissinger has written in
summation of Mettemich’s role m post-Napoleonlc Eu-
rope, it was

the final symbolization of the conservative dilemma
that it is the task of the conservative not to defeat hut
to forestall revolutions, that a society which cannot
prevent a revolution - . . will not be able to defeat it
by conservative means, that order once shattered can
be restored only by the experience of chaos.

54 CO'tSTRVA.TISM tV AMtWCA

And as Raymond English has written in warning to his
fellows in Conservatism

In a truly revolutionary situation, when central au-
thority becomes Ineffective, society loses its cohesion,
and order and tlic sense of social Justice break down,
conservatism w an idiotic delusion the purpose of
conservatism is to avoid such situations, when they
amve conservatism lias failed
The Conservative is always the prisoner of the social
process as it exists in the traditions, institutions, needs,
and aspirations of his own country — and thus the pris-
oner of the men who, knowingly or unknowingly, keep
that process in motion They act, he only reacts If they
act as “liberals," if the social process moves steadily but
not explosively, his reactions can take the form of conserv-
atism But if they act as "radicals," if the process begins
to speed up visibly, his reactions must aim beyond mem
conservation at restoration, and that is the point at which
the Conservative mission becomes difficult to pursue
When the pace of history gets out of control, the Conserv-
ative can no longer rely on the simple, instinctive acts of
traditionalism and preservation He, too, must reason and
discriminate, he, too, must plan and tinker and gamble
The “Conservative as revolutionary," the traditionalist
who must act “radically" to preserve the values and insti-
tutions of his community, is not a happy sight and cannot,
m his thoughtful moments, be a happy man This, in es-
sence, is the dilemma of modem Conservatism, which I*
embarked on the most exacting, and therefore thankless,
of all possible political and cultural missions.

If this account of the Conservative tradition has been at
all accurate, then it Is plain that the Conservative thinks
some of the Liberals thoughts about man, government
and society The web of Conservatism now enfolds prin-
ciples to which Burke and John Adams would have taken
strenuous exception Conservatism, it would seem, has
been noticeably “liberalized ’ in the century and a half
between Burke and Churchill.

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 55

While the Conservative does not dispute the general
truth of these observations, he wishes his critics would
stop confusing liberty with Liberalism Conservatism, too,
is a philosophy of liberty, its taproot goes deep into the
tradition of freedom under law. Many institutions and
values that shallow men credit to Liberalism have been
part of Conservative thinking from the beginning Those
who accuse Conservatism of having shifted too much
ground forget that its point of departure was the Anglo.
American constitutional tradition Burke, after all, was a
Whig, not a Tory, and he spent his life defending consti-
tutional liberty And if Conservatism has turned more lib-
eral over these hundred and fifty years. Liberalism lias
turned more conservative Once it was hopefully radical,
now it speaks in strangely Conservative phrases about the
imperfect nature of man, the reciprocity of rights and
duties, and the joys of security While the Conservative
has become more of a democrat, the Liberal has become
more of a constitutionalist. Who then, the Conservative
asks, is stealing whose thoughts?

Warmed by this thought and chilled by the threat of
totalitarianism, the Conservative can often be heard to
speak fondly of “the kinship and joint mission of conserv-
atism and liberalism." In his "almost perfect state,” radi-
cals and reactionaries are few in number, liberals contest
with conservatives for the power to govern, and the latter
are in power about nine years m ten In the imperfect
world, especially m two-party Britain and America, he too
often finds himself allied with reactionaries and other wn-
moderates of the Right — an unhappy situation that em-
bitters his relations with the Liberal When the. passions of
politics have calmed, however, the Conservative's feel-
ing for balance and moderation brings him to acknowl-
edge that he and the Liberal— the “sensible land of Lib-
eral,” of course — have a common responsibility for liberty,
order, and progress The ends of the free community, he
admits, are best served by the interplay of nval forces
within the rules of the game, and the two forces that seem
to stay within them are Conservatism and Liberalism
unsettles the Conservative to see die Liberal flirt with

j6 CONSERVATISM IN AM** 55 *

radicalism, it frightens the Liberal to hear the Cons® •
live talk hke a reactionary. But both are coming mo
more to realize that they are brothers in the s • ^
against those who would hurry ahead to ^ to p» or
to Eden This leaves them more than a hun /
behind Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said of Li r
and Conservatism that "each is a good hah, but an ,
sible whole . . In a true society, in a true man,

must combine" j the

Having said alt these kind words about his men ,
Sensible Liberal, the Conservative, who doesnt ^
many Liberals are sensible anyway, takes most of
back and reaffirms his faith in Conservatism as a ’
superior way of life When pressed for a final rec on S
of the differences between Conservatism and Libera
he finds at least three worth senous consideration
First, there is what we have already noted as the d
ence of temper, of "mood and bias ” The Conservati
stated preferences for stability over change, expend ^
over experiment, intuttion over reason, tradition over c
osity, and self-control over self-expression are enough
themselves to set him apart from the Liberal His urges a
toward aristocracy, the Liberal’s toward democracy H®
makes peace, the Liberal disturbs it He likes to look bac »
the Liberal to look ahead He rallies to Burke, the Libera 4
to Tom Paine Perhaps it is too simple to say that the«e dif-
ferences in temper boil down to the contrast between p®*'
sunjsm and optimism, but it cannot be denied that the
Conservative’s confidence in man, democracy, and prog-
ress js far Weaker than the Liberal's, even the Sensible
Libera) s The Conservative finds this the best of all pos-
sible worlds and is generally content to leave well enough
alone The Liberal thinks the world can stand a lot of im-
proving and cannot wait to get on the job (Or, J 5
Ambrose Bierce put it, the Conservative is “a statesman
enamored of existing evils,” the Liberal one "who wishes
to replace them with others ")

Next, the Conservative cannot understand how anyone
could mistake his political principles for those of Liberal-
ism If the Liberal wants to draw on his stockpile for such

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 57

ideas as the diffusion of power and the balancing of rights
and duties, the Conservative will enter no strong objec-
tion, but he wants it clearly understood that some of his
ideas are private property If the Liberal wants to share
them, he will first have to abandon Liberalism, for the
hard coie of Conservatism is an austere distrust of the
hopes of Jefferson and the promises of Bentham Cer-
tainly the Liberal cannot challenge the Conservative’s
peculiar claim to the preference for liberty over equality,
emphasis on constitutionalism rather than democracy,
fear of majority rule, admiration for aristocracy, and devo-
tion to the rights of property Certainly the Conservative’s
mission, so different from the Liberal’s, gives his political
faith a quality all its own

fn the end, the difference between Conservatism and
Liberalism seems to be this both are devoted to liberty
as we have known it in the West, but the Conservative
thinks of liberty as something to be preserved, the Liberal
thinks of it as something to be enlarged The Conservative
suspects that a country like the United States or Britain
has got just about as much liberty as it will ever have, that
the liberty we enjoy cannot be increased but only redis-
tributed among ourselves, and that persistent efforts
either to increase or redistribute it may bring the whole
structure of freedom down m rums The Liberal, on the
other hand, is confident that no country has yet ap-
proached the upper limits of liberty, that giving new
freedoms to some men does not necessitate taking away
old liberties from others, and that the structure of freedom
will fall slowly into decay if it is not enlarged by the men
of each generation

As a result of this clash of opinion on the scope of lib-
erty, the Conservative and the Liberal seem to have
switched sides m the everlasting debate over man and
the state Historically, the Conservative has been the one
to emphasize the social nature of man and primacy of the
community, the Liberal to insist, in Ramsay Muir’s words,
“that the source of all progress Ues in the free exerase of
individual energy” Today, the Conservative is heard to
declaim grandly on the liberty of the individual, the Lib

CONSERVATISM I'* AMERICA

58

cral to speak gravely of the needs of the community
What has happened, of course. Is that the Liberal has kept
his ends constant while shifting his means Hi* Libcrnhsin
now involves, again according to Muir,

a readiness to use the power of the State for the pur-
poses of creating the conditions within which indi-
vidual energy ban thrive, of preventing all abuses of
power, of affording to every citizen the means of ac-
quiring mastery of his own capabilities, and of
establishing a real equality of opportunity for alL
These aims arc compatible with a very active policy
of social reorganization, intolclng a great enlarge-
ment of the functions of the State

The italics arc mine and ere designed to light up the
course of Liberalism since the da)S of Manchester and
Monticello While the liberty of the individual rather than
the authority of the community remains the Liberal's cen-
tral concern, he now believes, though he may not believe
so forever, that a judicious use of political authority can
expand rather than contract the sum of individual liber-
ties

This is exactly what the Conservative has always
doubted the capacity of government to give more men
more liberty Now that the Liberal turns so readily to po-
litical power ns the answer to all our ills, he doubts it all
the more Whether his new difference of opinion with the
Liberal is destined to persist and even widen, he is not
prepared to say Ad he knows is that he has remained con-
stant, shunning both individualism and collectivism, while
the other fellow has swung from one extreme to the other.
And constant he will remain He wid continue to respect
the authont) of government, while demanding that gov-
ernment direct this authority to its histone tasks He wall
continue to assert the primacy of the community, while
warning us not to confuse government with the great com-
munity that embraces it To those of his countrymen who
wallow m the trough of rugged individualism he wad
speak out boldly for the authority of the community To
those who nde carelessly on the wave of collectivism he

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION

59

will speak out no less boldly for the liberty of the individ-
ual. In the future as in the past his anxious concern will
be the size and scope of government, not its authority.

Some readers may feel that this account has been much
too kind to Conservatism take any ism, it is open to at-
tack on many grounds, and it might seem useful to record
the most common criticisms that have been launched
against it from the Center and Left, and that have, more
than incidentally, been worried over most openly by sen-
sitive Conservatives What follows here is not a senes of
strictures against temperamental conservatism, winch in
its pure form is about the meanest of human attitudes, or
against possessive conservatism, which m its pure form is
simply the familiar posture of the man who shouts, “I'm
all right, Jackl" Nor will this be a denunciation of men
who think and vote like conservatives but talk like liberals,
or of other men who mouth the rolling phrases of rever-
ence and tradibon in support of ends that are narrow,
cheap, covetous, or downright dishonest This critique
takes Conservatism at face value and finds weaknesses
and faults that seem inherent m its teachings The indict-
ment of Conservatism, even when preached and prac-
tised by the best of men, reads thus

Conservatism is mean in spint The great tree of this
ancient faith, however lush its foliage, stands eternally
upon the dank ground of temperamental conservatism
No matter how noble the sentiments and unselfish the
impulses that apparently lead men to embrace Conserva-
tism, the psychology of fear and habit remains the most
important single influence There must always be some-
thing a little mean and morally stingy about a faith
grounded m fear rather than courage, habit rather than
imagination, inertia rather than activity

Conservatism is materialistic No matter how vigorously
the Conservative may protest his preference for values
over things, his arguments are in the end simply a defense
in depth of a way of life in which property is the indis-
pensable element.

Conservatism is selfish The Conservative, hardly coma-

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

58

eral to speak gravely of the needs of the community
What has happened, of course, is that the Liberal has kept
his ends constant while shifting his means His Liberalism
now involves, again according to Muir,

a readiness to use the power of the State for the pur-
poses of creating the conditions within which indi-
vidual energy ban thnve, of preventing all abuses of
power, of affording to every citizen the means of ac-
quiring mastery of his own capabilities, and of
establishing a real equality of opportunity for all
These aims are compatible with a very active policy
of social reorganization, tnvolvtng a great enlarge -
merit of the functions of the Slate
The italics are mine and are designed to light up the
course of Liberalism smce the days of Manchester and
Monticello While the liberty of the individual rather than
the authority of the community remains the Liberal’s cen-
tral concern, he now believes, though he may not believe
so forever, that a judicious use of political authority can
expand rather than contract the sum of individual liber-
ties

This is exactly what the Conservative has always
doubted the capacity of government to give more men
more liberty Now that the Liberal turns so readily to po-
litical power as the answer to all our ills, he doubts it all
the more Whether his new difference of opmion with the
Liberal is destined to persist and even widen, he is not
prepared to say All he knows is that he has remained con-
stant, shunning both individualism and collectivism, while
the other fellow has swung from one extreme to the other
And constant he will remain He will continue to respect
the authority of government, while demanding that gov-
ernment direct this authority to its historic tasks He wall
continue to assert the primacy of the community, while
warning us not to confuse government with the great com-
munity that embraces it To those of his countrymen who
wallow m the trough of rugged individualism he will
speak out boldly for the authonty of the community To
those who nde carelessly on the wave of collectivism he

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION

59

will speak out no less boldly for the liberty of the mdivid*
ual In the future as m the past his anxious concern will
be the size and scope of government, not its authority

Some readers may feel that this account has been much
too kind to Conservatism Like any ism, it is open to at-
tack on many grounds, and it might seem useful to record
the most common criticisms that have been launched
against it from the Center and Left, and that have, more
than incidentally, been womed over most openly by sen-
sitive Conservatives What follows here is not a senes of
stnctures against temperamental conservatism, which in
its pure form is about the meanest of human attitudes, or
against possessive conservatism, which m its pure form is
simply tfie familiar posture of the man who shouts, Tm
all right, Jackl H Nor will this be a denunciation of men
who think and vote like conservatives but talk like liberals,
or of other men who mouth the rolling phrases of rever-
ence and tradition in support of ends that are narrow,
cheap, covetous, or downright dishonest This critique
takes Conservatism at face value and finds weaknesses
and faults that seem inherent in its teachings The indict-
ment of Conservatism, even when preached and prac-
tised by the best of men, reads thus

Conservatism is mean in spmt The great tree of this
ancient faith, however lush its foliage, stands eternally
upon the dank ground of temperamental conservatism
No matter how noble the sentiments and unselfish the
impulses that apparently lead men to embrace Conserva-
tism, the psychology of fear and habit remains the most
important single influence There must always be some-
thing a little mean and morally stingy about a faith
grounded in fear rather than courage, habit rather than
imagination, inertia rather than activity

Conservatism is materialistic No matter how vigorously
the Conservative may protest his preference for values
over things, his arguments are in the end simply a defense
in depth of a way of life m which property is the indis-
pensable element

Conservatism is selfish The Conservative, hardly coind-

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

6o

dentally, is well served by ibis Way of life While claiming
to defend an entire society, lie really defends his own posi-
tion in it Conservatism is inherently an attitude of pos-
session — whether possession of property, status, reputa-
tion, or power— and it fears change primarily because
this means dispossession All philosophies, it may be
argued, are rationalizations of Self-interest, but the inter-
ests of Conservatism are especially scU-centercd, for they
are vested rather than pursued

Conservatism is smug The Conservative defense of the
established order implies thorough satisfaction with things
as they are A faith that moves men to declaim, “When ft
is not necessary to change, it is necessary not to change,"
is dangerously complacent

Conservatism is callous When the Conservative argues
that proposals to cure one social ill may open the way to
ills more dangerous and irrepressible, ho exposes himself
to doubts about his much vaunted compassion Even in its
noblest momenfa, Conservatism has displayed a fine faculty
for ignoring suffering and Injustice

Conservatism Is negative It fa always on the defensive,
never m the lead Its positive contributions to progress
have all been made under duress The only new Ideas ft
has come up with arc a thousand new ways of saying no
Worst of all, it is deficient in that \ cry sense of adventure
and constructive imagination wliich created the great tra-
dition it is now so anxious to defend

Conservatism fa inherently Self -contradictory How can
the Conservative preach both the inviolability of the per-
son and the primacy of society, the ascendancy of moral
values and the concept of property ns a natural right, the
aristocratic spirit and the brotherhood of men as children
of Cod? How can he square the gospel of rigid morality
with the counsel of expediency, devotion to ritual vvith
respect for facts, the urge to do right with the feeling that
to do anything is rather useless, the need for moderation
and compromise with the overriding duty to frustrate
radicalism? And how can any philosophy be so pessimistic
and optimistic at the same time? These are accusations of

'E3. D CFNT i Ufa \

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 6l

inconsistency that the Conservative should have a good
deal of trouble answering

While these may be written off as a rather frivolous
catalogue of complaints, the Conservative must also face
charges that could make a mockery of his pose as defender
of human liberty

Conservatism is anti-humamsbc It speaks of compas-
sion, reverence, and kindness, yet it is grounded in a view
of human nature that is essentially defamatory Conserva-
tism claims to be no more than distrustful of human na-
ture, but distrust moves easily into disdain, disdain mto
contempt, and contempt into hatred The Conservative
proclaims the dignity of man to be the most wonderful of
modem spiritual forces, at the same time, his assumption
of an immutably wicked human nature is a standing insult
to all men everywhere

Conservatism is anti-democratic It is hard not to be
skeptical about the Conservative defense of constitutional
democracy Conservatism fought it savagely at every stage
of its development and never embraced it until compelled
to choose between surrender and oblivion, and even now
the embrace is more forced than fond The Conservative's
opinions and assumptions about liberty, equality, progress,
individualism, authority, class, suffrage, and education are
all at odds with the democratic faith Enough Conserva-
tives remain bluntly honest in their distaste for democracy
to bnng this whole faith under deep suspicion

Conservatism is anti-intellectual Not only our current
crop of obscurantists, whom some writers insist on labeling
conservatives, but the very noblest and most enlightened
Conservatives betray a fundamental distrust of reason,
intelligence, and learning The nature of its mission forces
Conservatism to harp on the limits of reason, condemn
bold flights of fancy, prefer character to intellect, and
single out the intellectual as the real threat to ordered
liberty “We do wrong to deny it," warned Keith Felling,
the Conservative historian,

when we are told that we do not trust human reason
we do not and we may not. Hu man reason set up a

gj COHSMVATtSM IN AMZXtCA

cross on Calvary, human reason lot up the cup of

hemlock, human reason waJ canonised In Notre

Dame

This Is honest Conservatism It Is also unadorned antl-
intellcctualum, and that, the world knows. Is A brute
force almost impossible to hokl in check.

The final Indictment of Conservatism is directed toward
its influence rather than its principles Because of the na-
ture of its arguments, it is on unfailing obstruction to even
the kind and rate of progress that it is willing to sponsor or
tcilerate If it plaj s its own game too hard and well, U playi
straight into tho hands of its real enemies The Conserva-
tive knows that reason has worked miracles among men,
jet his enumeration of the evils it has also worked l* am-
munition for the obscurantists He believes that the lend
of man is the key to survival, yet his evaluation of human
nature is hardly calculated to inspire moral and spiritual
uplift He Is convinced that there is no workable alterna-
tive to totalitarianism except constitutional democracy,
jet his refusal to clasp democracy passionately to his
bosom cannot help but discourage other soldiers in the
cause He proclaims the importance of myth to social con-
tinuity and national unity, jet he questions those demo-
cratic myths that inspire most of his brothers-in liberty
And no matter what he says about equably, authority,
unity, or expediency, he aids tho enemy if ho says it can-
didly Anti humanism, anti-democracy, and anti-Intellec-
tualism arc ingrained features of Conservatism that are
malign in essence and pernicious in influence.

The Conservative's answer to this critique, when he
bothers to make it, is direct and confident The allegations
of meanness, smugness, callousness, and selfishness, he
says, are at best matters of opinion, at worst a display of
ill mannered name-calling Materialism is simply a nasty
word for a truth about man — his inherent nerd for prop-
erty — which the Conservative alone is frank to acknowl-
edge Negativism, too, is a nasty word, slapped on men
who are honest enough to assert that “constructive im-
agination” has destroyed mote than one sound society.

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 63

And as to the brand of self-contradiction, there never was
a body of doctnne that did not seem self-contradictory to
its detractors The inconsistencies of Conservatism are
marks of a faith that has come to grips with the real world,
which abounds in inconsistencies
To the most serious indictments the Conservative re-
plies that surely one may love men without adonng them,
practice democracy without making it a religion, and
thank Cod for the gift of reason without forgetting that,
like other gifts of God, it has been grossly abused In af-
firming the sms of man, the difficulties of democracy, and
the limits of reason while remaining a stanch defender of
each, the Conservative displays a devotion to the best m
our tradition that will outlast the idolatry of those who
profess no doubts Finally, in rebutting the charge that
he defeats his announced purposes of insuring progress
and defending liberty, the Conservative reminds his de-
tractors that prudence, which he pnzes highly, keeps him
from pushing any belief or mood too far His final appeal
is to the history of the past fifty years, which he reads
largely as a record of follies and cruelties committed by
men who exercised no prudence and entertained no
doubts — and yet whose spiritual and political bens call
him, the Conservative, nasty names

Even if this critique be regarded as a caricature of the
case against Conservatism, there can be little doubt that
the men of this famous ism are almost always at a rhetori-
cal disadvantage in arguing with the men of Liberalism
and Radicalism To react rather than act, to say no rather
than yes, to counsel caution rather than adventure, to
rationalize suffering and evil rather than to move boldly
against them — this is to occupy an uncomfortable position,
especially in a society in which hope rather than despair
is the rightful legacy of the people What is exciting about
a country like England or the United States is the possi-
bility of genuine progress, what is worth preserving in
them is largely the work of progressives, reformers, and
chance-takers Small wonder that Conservatism feels itself
permanently “one-down” to Liberalism and even Radical-
ism, small wonder that it gets far less credit than does any

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

64

other leading persuasion from the men who wnte our his-
tories and instruct our children It is, indeed, “the thank-
less persuasion” Neither the satisfaction he derives from
the unassailable logic of his position nor the security he
finds in his sense of identity with the nation can spare the
thoughtful Conservative the realization that he can never
be loved or celebrated as is the Liberal or Radical He is,
and knows he is, an unpopular man Yet if the truth be
known, he rejoices in the fact He would rather be ngbt
than popular, rather tell the eternal truth than a strategic
he, rather be out of public favor as a man than in it as a
sycophant If his contemporaries will not thank him for his
dogged pursuit of the Conservative mission, perhaps pos-
terity will, if posterity also spurns him, then he will find
his reward in heaven One way or another the thankless
persuasion has a way of generating its own thanks

In conclusion to this chapter and anticipation of those to
come, I think it essential to reduce the principles of Con-
servatism to a handy check-list, I do this with genuine
reluctance We have already probed too deeply into a
mind that hates to be analyzed, we have been much too
ideological about a faith that has no use for ideology
There is a quality of mystery, a feeling for things unseen
and therefore best left undefined, in Conservatism It is
a whole greater than and different from the sum of its parts,
it is a stew whose wonderful flavor cannot be accounted
for simply by ticking off its ingredients I therefore ask the
reader, when he has picked over these ingredients, to
throw them quickly into a pot labeled "peace” and stir
them gently with a spoon labeled "prudence " 1 ask him
also to remember that the Conservative stands on a firm
institutional base to spin out h\s reluctant thoughts, that
many of his ideas are quite meaningless unless referred
back to a particular society and tradition Here, for what it
may be worth, is a bare-boned rendering of the principles
of the Conservative tradition
The mixed and immutable nature of man, in which
wickedness, unreason, and the urge to violence lurk al-
ways behind the curtain of civilized behavior

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION 65

The natural inequality of men in most qualities of mind,
body, and spirit

The superiority of liberty to equality in the hierarchy
of human values and social purposes
The inevitability and necessity of social classes, and
consequent folly and futility of most attempts at leveling
Tbe need for a ruling and serving aristocracy
The fallibility and potential tyranny of majority rule
The consequent desirability of diffusing and balancing
power — social, economic, cultural, and especially political
The rights of man as something earned rather than
given

The duties of man — service, effort, obedience, cultiva-
tion of virtue, self-restraint — as the pnce of rights

The prime importance of private property for liberty,
order, and progress

The uncertainty of progress — and the related certainty
that prescription, not purposeful reform, is the mainspring
of such progress as a society may achieve

The mdispensabihty and sanctity of inherited institu-
tions, values, symbols, and rituals, that is, of tradition
The essential role of religious feeling m man and or-
ganized religion in society

The fallibility and limited reach of human reason
The civilizing, disciplining, conserving mission of edu-
cation

The mystery, grandeur, and tragedy of history, man’s
surest guide to wisdom and virtue
The existence of immutable principles of universal jus-
tice and morality

The primacy of the organic community
Reverence, contentment, prudence, patriotism, self-
discipline, the performance of duty — the marks of the
good man

Order, unity, equity, stability, continuity, security, har-
mony, the confinement of change — the marks of the good
society

Dignity, authority, legitimacy, justice, constitutionalism,
hierarchy, the recognition of limits — the marks of good
government

66

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

The absolute necessity of conservatism — as tempera-
ment, mood, philosophy, and tradition — to the existence
of civilization

To those who deny that they have ever met a complete
Conservative, a man who accepts every last one of these
principles, the answer is that Conservatism, as James
Burnham has pointed out, is a compelling but not despotic
syndrome of logically and lustoncallv related beliefs
A man who subscribes to most of them will probably sub-
scribe to all, a man who cannot subscribe to such concepts
as the need for an aristocracy, the sanctity of tradition,
and the beauties of order is really not a Conservative at
all To those who deny that they have ever met a perfect
Conservative, a man who honors every last one of these
principles m his daily existence, the answer is that Con-
servatism, unlike Liberalism, Marxism, and Vegetarian-
ism, expects only imperfect allegiance from imperfect
men It asks only that they do the very best they can to be
prudently faithful, and that, when they have departed
from the teachings of the tradition, they return to it in
good time with sore consciences Men under pressure may
ignore the Conservative tradition carelessly or even ma-

ConservaUves ^ deSp ‘ Se “ “ d remam

Ill

CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM
IN THE

AMERICAN TRADITION

O R

How to Have the Best of
Two Possible Worlds

a

Theodore Roosevelt, who “loved a good fight" even
more dearly than did his cousin Franklin, once took time
out from smiting his enemies to observe "Infinitely more
important than the questions that divide us . are the
great and fundamental questions upon which we stand
alike simply as Americans” It is not recorded that
his enemies nodded assent, but we of a later generation,
privileged to enjoy the Colonel without having to line
up for or against him, might well find this his most pene-
trating comment on the American scene “The great and
fundamental questions” upon which the Roosevelts and
their worst enemies were able to “stand alike" formed, and
still form, an impressive unity of principle and practice
There has been, in a doctrinal sense, only one America
We have debated fiercely, but as men who agreed on
fundamentals and could thus afford to sound more fero-
cious than we really were We have all spoken the same
political language, we have all made the same political

68

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

assumptions, we have all thought the same political
thoughts Even the South, Gunnar Myrdal reminds US, has
few political principles that are distinctly its own "The
Southerner, too, and even the reactionary Southerner,
harbors the whole American creed in his bosom” One
may speak with confidence and propriety of "the Ameri-
can political tradition ”

It is with this tradition or mmd or faith, with the way
most Americans have thought and talked about politics
and government, that we are concerned in this chapter
American conservatism has been, for at least a hundred
years, the intellectual prisoner of the American tradition
Before we can describe the prisoner, we must know some-
thing about the prison in which it has been kept — a very
happy prison, let it be noted, and one in which it has been
kept both comfortably and profitably I propose to take
this fresh look at the tradition in three installments first,
by searching the American political mind for instances of
liberalism and conservatism, second, by observing this
mind in action, by noting how faithfully our political prac-
tices have reflected our political preaching, and third, by
surveying the history of American progressmsm for evi-
dence of an underlying conservative mood and purpose

The American political tradition is a product of American
history A vast pattern of forces — ethnic, geographic, reli-
gious, political, sociological, economic, cultural, ideologi-
cal — has molded our thoughts into something “character-
istically American ” If it is impossible to weigh accurately
any one of tlie physical or human-directed forces that have
shaped our way of living and thinking, it is possible, and
for our purposes essential, to point to several unusual cir-
cumstances

The first of these is the bigness and diversity of
America Never in history has one free government ex-
tended over so many people and so broad an expanse of
habitable territory Never have men of so many nations
and of so many ways of thinking about God tried to live
together m freedom and mutual trust Never, therefore,
has a people felt so pressing a need for ideals that would

COMSERVATtSM AND LIBERALISM 69

bmd them together m voluntary unity The Americans
found their unifying ideal at the outset of their great ad-
venture, and the ideal has continued to hold their im-
agination The American political mind has been one mind
not least because the people of this nation had to talk the
same political language or fall into envious, squabbling,
fratricidal pieces

It is not surprising that this unifying ideal turned out to
be a consuming belief in individual liberty Thoughts of
liberty — bold, optimistic, adventurous thoughts — came
naturally to men who lived in the American env ironment
Through most of the first three centuries — in the years
when Williams was preaching, Franklin tinkering, Wash-
ington persevering, Jefferson inspiring. Lincoln suffering,
even so recently as when Bryan was protesting — America
was a land m which men could literally behold opportu-
nity, There were forests uncut, soil unplowed, nvers un-
travded, resources untapped The frontier beckoned and,
beckoning, touched both those who answered and those
who did not The results are chronicled m words like
"enterprise," "energy," "achievement," "individualism,"
"progress," and "mobility," the only words that can de-
senbe the astounding pilgrimage of a new race of men
more concerned with getting ahead than with holding
their own The American political mind has been a liberal
mind, for change and progress have been the American
way of life

For all its depressions and wars, for all the bitter wages
it has paid for the sm of slavery, Amenca has had less than
its share of misery and frustration, more than its share of
happiness and fulfillment The depressions have left few
permanent scars, the wars of one hundred and fifty years,
except for the one Americans fought with themselves,
have been fought elsewhere, the sin of slavery sits lightly
on the conscience of a people that has Lttle sense of sm
Fewer tears of sheer gnef and hopelessness have been
shed on this continent than in those from which we came,
more aspirations and ambitions have been gratified We
have been, as David Potter reminds us, a "people of
plenty" Even the poor have "never had it so good

70

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

When the Greek Jew told Carl Becker, "I like it fine
In America is everything better for poor people like me,"
he spoke, perhaps not unwittingly, like a true American
Most Amencans, whether rich, middling, or poor, have
liked it fine Thus, while their collective mind has been lib-
eral— that is, hopeful and expansive — about techniques and
prospects, it has been conservative — that is, caubous and
traditional — about institutions and values And whether

in a liberal or conservabve phase, Amencans ate not given
to speculation or dogma

Big, diverse, rich, new, and successful, this country is
also blessed by the happy accident that it has no feudal
past America emerged from the Revolution, as it went into
it, with a society more open, a government more consti-
tutional, a religion more vaned and tolerant, and a mind
more independent than anything Europeans would know
for generabons to come Ocean, wilderness, ethnic and
religious diversity, the very absence of physical presences
like castles, cathedrals, and guildhalls — these and other
circumstances made certain that the fight for release from
feudalism, which has marked and marred the course of
political and social development in Europe, would be over
in America almost before it had begun The Amencans
were privileged to begin their experiment in liberty with-
ou eudal tenures, centralized and arbitrary government,
a national church, a privilege-ridden economy, and heredi-
ary Stratification The American pohbcal mind has thus
been conservabve twice ov«r, for, m the words of Louis
iartz, when men “have already inherited the freest so-
ciety in the world and are grateful for it, their thinking is
bound to be of a solider type "

These massive circumstances, working on the Christian
entage of justice and virtue and on the English heritage
of law and liberty, shaped the American tradition. A peo-
ple who have never had to think about how to wipe out
an oppressive put, and „, ely hoiv „ M
m .miserable present, have thought of liberty as a heritage
to be preserved rathe, than as a goal „ be fought for The
* p°>f f 1 •“'fctro that is so conserve .hoot
hbenJm, so defensive about th. „pe„ society, that it has

CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM 71

made Liberalism, which it calls “the American Way," a
national faith Let us look more carefully at this unusual
tradition and its built-in paradox

The American political tradition is basically a Liberal
tradition, an avowedly optimistic, idealistic, even light-
hearted way of thinking about man and government. It is
stamped with the mighty name and spirit of Thomas Jef-
ferson, and its articles of faith, a sort of American Holy
Wnt, are meliorism, progress, liberty, equality, democracy,
and individualism

The American mind has been entertained but never
really convinced by generations of revivalists It simply
refuses to believe that every man’s nature is immutably
sinful, if it is not perfectibihst, it is certainly mehonst It
makes more of man’s benevolence than of his wickedness,
more of his malleability than of his perversity, more of his
urge to he free than of his need to submit, more of his
sense of justice than of his capacity for injustice, and it
plainly lacks any secular counterpart of the doctnne of
Original Sin It assumes that men are rational beings who
need little guidance from the past (especially a past in the
form of hierarchy and dogma), that their nght to pursue
happiness is matched by an ability to catch up with it, and
that properly organized and sponsored instruments of
education ran lift up the most bumble man to wisdom and
virtue It assumes, too, that the whole species is on the
march, doggedly if not always comfortably, toward an
ever higher level of dignity and intelligence.

America is a country whose golden age lies in the fu-
ture. Everything is on the way up standard of living,
gross national product, hours of leisure, number of cars
and symphony orchestra, life expectancy of the average
man. Through reason, experiment, self-improvement,
and education, above all through the release of individual
energy by one hundred and eighty million people who
can be happy if they try, the nation is moving onward
and upward to “the sunlit plains of freedom and abun-
dance" The American political mind thinks in terms of
inevitable progress, whether in material, moral, or cultural
affairs Even today, in an age of uncertainty and discontent.

70

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

When the Greek Jew told Carl Becker, “I like it fine .

In America is everything better for poor people like me,’
he spoke, perhaps not unwittingly, like a true American
Most Americans, whether neh, middling, or poor, have
liked it fine Thus, while their collective mind has been lib-
eral— -that is, hopeful and expansive — about techniques and
prospects, it has been conservative — that is, cautious and
traditional about institutions and values And whether

in a liberal or conservative phase, Americans are not given
to speculation or dogma

Big, diverse, neb, new, and successful, this country Is
also blessed by the happy accident that it has no feudal
past America emerged from the Revolution, as it went into
it, with a society more open, a government more consti-
tutional, a religion more varied and tolerant, and a mind
more independent than anything Europeans would know
for generations to come Ocean, wilderness, ethnic and
religious diversity, the very absence of physical presences
Me castles, cathedrals, and guildhall*— these and other
circumstances made certain that the fight for release from
eudalism, which has marked and marred the course of
political and social development in Europe, would be over
m America almost before it had begun The Americans
were privileged to be gm their experiment in liberty with-
out feudal tenures, centralized and arbitrary government,
a national church, a pnvilege-ndden economy, and heredi-
tary stratification The American political mind has thus
been conservative twice over, for, in the words of Louis
TT* 2 ’ ““ “ have aJre *ty inherited the freest so-

ST. .IT are f “ ’«• tbe» flunking is

bound to be of a sohder type ”

b2^ T SMVe circumstanc «> working on the Christian
Se . a ” d v,rt “ e “ d °» the English hentage

o law md liberty, shaped the American tradition A peo-
ple who have never had to th.nfc about how to wipe out

oppressive past, and only rarely how to act drastically
. t * P ,es '“*. !>*'» thought of liberty as a hentage
res^aTT*. “f" “ * e=«l to he fought for Tta

hberalis . tradition that is so conservative about

liberalism, so defensive about the open society, that it has

CONStUVATISM AND UBEBALISM 7J

Ism be gone The American political mfnd has always as-
sumed that the state cannot possibly be anything more
than the Individuals who make it up, and it has placed
man rather than the community at the center of its
thoughts “Statism" is the word we detest and therefore
hurl at our political opponents, "individualism" is the
word we love and therefore make the test of all govern-
ment activity Whether competitive, co-operative, or down-
right abrasive, individualism is the natural condition of oh
men and the reliable goad of most progress
The American is not so sure of all these principles as he
was a hundred or fifty or even ten years ago Yet he has
no intention of launching a search for a substitute faith.
He continues to assume human decency, chcnsh progress,
proclaim liberty, put his faith in democracy, preach equal-
ity, and reduce all social problems to terms of th e individ-
ual and his rights He lacks today, as he has always lacked,
any sense of the high tragedy of history The miseries of
the past, he will tell you, like those of the present, were
visited upon men so silly and ignorant as to fad to choose
democracy and make it work. Nothing in the past is con-
clusive proof that men must always lie silly and ignorant,
certainly not men who live in this blessed environment
and “live up to the principles of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence " “America was promises," sang the poet.
"America is promises," answers the American Commu-
nism is not our death warrant but Gods way of testing
our devotion to liberty, atomic energy does not mean
doom but unlimited progress The American remains op-
timistic about man's nature and destiny.

Having said that the most S3cred articles of the American
faith axe Liberal in essence and purpose, I hasten to add
this qualifying remark if this faith is truly liberal, then
somewhere in it lies a deep strain of philosophical con-
servatism If the principles just advanced were the whole
American political tradition, then it would be properly
styled radical rather than liberal A closer look at this tra-
dition reveals a number of other, hardly less sacred prin-
ciples— some of them genuinely conservative, some at

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

7 *

it cannot really believe that America, like other great
civilizations of the past, is destined to decay and disappear
We have always been a nation obsessed with liberty
Liberty over authority, freedom over responsibility, rights
over dubes — these are our histone preferences From the
days of Williams and Wise to those of Eisenhower and
Kennedy, Americans have talked about practically noth-
ing else but liberty Not the good man, but the free man
has been the measure of all things in this "sweet land of
liberty”, not national glory but individual liberty has been
the object of political authority and the test of its worth
The Amencan political mind has refused to think in
terms of class, order, aristocracy, expertise It assumes that
every man is a precious child of God and is thus, m a vis-
ible as well as mysbc sense, the equal or potential equal
of all other men In pracbce, the pious truth that all men
are created equal means equality of pohbcal voice, equal-
ity of opportun’ty, equality of considerabon, equality be-
fore the law, and equality in natural and consbtutional
rights It is a harsh sort of equality — prompting men to
say "I'm as good as you" rather than “You’re as good as
me”— but it is equality with precious few reservations
The common man is the one man with a secure place in
the Amencan dream

The Amencan tradibon has room for one form of gov-
ernment — democracy, "government of the people, by the
people, for the people ” It must be of the people because
they are the only source of legibmate power, by them be-
cause they alone have the nght and capacity to judge the
rightness of the laws under which they live, for them be-
cause their liberties and welfare are the only reason that
government exists at all Forms of government that place
the power of final decision in a man or group or class or
party are wicked, unnatural, and doomed to destruebon
The basis of government is the consent of the sovereign
people, the wisest of pohbcal oracles is a clear majority
of this people

The core of our faith is individualism “The state was
made for man. not man for the state” is the magic formula
with which Americans bid the evil spirits of authoritarian-

CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM 75

light in discovering signs of diversity in American folk-
ways, he is doubly delighted by signs of unity Although
he boasts of his country's size and variety, be is aware that
these give nse to highly centrifugal urges that must be
balanced by a strong sense of unity For this reason, he
has almost always put a higher value on unum than on e
pluribus Loyalty, which he likes to call patriotism, de-
mands unquestioning devotion to a whole senes of in-
hented ideals and institutions The American is deeply
satisfied with the legacy of his fathers, and he has amassed
an extensive arsenal of symbols and rituals with which to
express this satisfaction His mmd places patnotism at the
top of its catalogue of public virtues

The spirit of constitutionalism also pervades our politi-
cal thinking. When the American proclaims his devotion
to political democracy, he is thinking of democracy in
which power is diffused by a written Constitution and the
wielders of power are held in check by the rule of law
“A government of laws and not of men” is his criterion of
good government. In his opinion, there is no incompati-
bility between democracy and constitutionalism The
latter is simply a method for making the former work
through safe, effective, predictable methods All man,
however good they may be, are susceptible to the tempta-
tions of power, all men, however rational they can be, may
lose their heads in a tight situation They must therefore
govern themselves under self-imposed restraints that de-
liver them from temptation and lead them to sober deci-
sions The spirit of American constitutionalism, needless to
say, is made visible in a Constitution that is not just casu-
ally admired but actively worshipped

Traditionalism, unity, loyalty, constitutionalism— these
are, by any test, profoundly conservative principles In-
deed, we might label them Conservative if it were not for
the open contempt that our mind has displayed toward
the Conservative faith Their presence in a Liberal tradi-
tion does not deliberate it, rather do they strengthen it
and save it from full-blown radicalism
The Conservative can peer into the American mind and
discover a number of other beliefs that resemble articles

74

CONSERVATISM W AMERICA

least as conservative as liberal, all of them forming a stub-
born dike that keeps our Liberalism from spilling over
into Radicalism If they seem inconsistent with those al-
ready presented, that in itself illustrates a vital truth about
our political thinking inconsistency rarely bothers the
American mind On the contrary, many of us would insist
that these inner tensions and contradictions are exactly
what make our tradition so stable and enduring Pushed
to its logical conclusion, any one of these ideas runs
head-on into an array of other ideas The democratic mind,
however, like the democratic community, does not push
things to logical conclusions

The first and most visible of our conservative principle*
is traditionalism Some readers may have noted that the
words mind, "faith," and "tradition” have been used
interchangeably This has been done in order to point up
two important truths the American feels more deeply
than he thinks about political principles, and what he feels
most deeply about them is that they are the gift of great
men of old Where else but in America would the editors
of a progressive business magazine write so confidently
•Political philosophy has made absolutely no progress in
its essentials from the tune when Adams, Jefferson, Ham-
ilton. and Madison were its world masters to the present”?
Where else would an unreconstructed Liberal begin a
book about his country with a chapter entitled "The
Foumtog Falters Had tie Rrght Idea’ ? “To air extent rrn-
paralleled among modem peoples/' Benjamin Wright re-
. We , have , been hving on the ideas of our fore-
oears And our forebears, h e could have added, lived on
of th l e,r [ 0re bears The founding fathers of 1776
for su PP°rt to the founding fathers of
and nnnlt 1 ^ l6 ® 9 ^though we face problems

01 Wh f h ** Revolutionists could not have
dreamed, we refuse to abandon either their language or
the* assumptions Traditionalism « ingrained m the

a™™» poito, n, ^ ^ fMth ,

tt “ l " '“gUy oi hvo ««o*W conditions
of tie liable conmonrty uoaty md loyalty For J 1 hrs do-

CONSERVATISM A VO LIBERALISM y 7

American has always emphasized the right and necessity
of free association, he has emphasized, too, that successful
association calls for a spirit of brotherhood and fair play
For some years now, all these conservative and poten-
tially conservative principles have been waxing stronger
m the American mind We arc not quite so sure as we
once were of the full relevancy of our Liberal principles,
sve are more inclined to speak today m terms of tradi-
tionalism, unity, loyalty, constitutionalism, religion,
higher law, duty, morality, responsibility, and coopera-
tion While our tradition remains Liberal, we arc c\er
more insistent that it is just that a tradition
The American political mind has never thought much
along consciously radical lines Its Liberal principles, to be
sure, arc perfectionist and egalitarian, and to many critics
from abroad they have seemed a standing invitation to
Ic\ cling and anarchy Such an interpretation of the Ameri-
can faith overlooks three Important points the sobering,
stabilising influence of the conservative elements in this
faith, the extent to which Liberal principles have actually
been realized in this country and thus have been dcradi-
cakzed in influence if not in implication, and the fact that
Ibis is, after all, a faith, a set of ideals to be realized per-
fectly only in a far-off future and only by following the
teachings of our ancestors In the American dream there
is room for Utopia, but short cuts to it are regarded as
roads to rain The American mind, always interested in
moral reform, has been sold some amazing prescriptions
for specific ills, it has never been sold a panacea Social-
ism and Communism have had at least as much trouble
with the American mind as with the American environ-
men h and home-grown radicalisms have not fared much
better. The American mind favors Liberalism, wluch is
something quite different from radicalism
The extreme of reaction has even less standing in the
American tradition The true reactionary, as we have
properly defined him, wants literally to recreate the past
to re-establish a church, to revive capital punishment for
stealing and blaspheming, to take away the vote from all
but the well fixed and well bora, or to outlaw labor un-

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

76

of his own faith Two of these are closely associated, reli-
gion and the higher law Whatever doubts they may ex-
press in private, most Americans remain publicly convinced
that God had much to do with the rise of tins Republic,
and that democracy must be “strengthened with the
strength of religion “ At the same time, they continue to
believe that behind their liberties, laws, customs, rules of
conduct, and Constitution stand eternal principles of right
and justice While they are not so articulate about the
higher law as they once were, they have not yet sur-
rendered to the logical arguments of their phdosophers.
They, too, hold certain truths to be self-evident
The American definition of liberty has always included
the nght to acquire, hold, use, and dispose of private
property, as well as to enjoy the fruits that can be fairly
reaped from it The political storms of one hundred and
fifty years have shaken but not destroyed our traditional
belief in "the prime importance of private property for
liberty, order, and progress”

Article 15 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights of
*77 states another belief from which the American
mind has never wandered

That no free government, or the blessing of
hherty can be preserved to any people, but by a
firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance,
ruga ty and virtue, and by a frequent recurrence
to fundamental principles

Free government rests on a definite moral basis a vir-
tuous people The decay of a people’s morals signals the
o sue government The American believes these
things intensely, even as he errs

0 „Tf! f mind ha, always iked a number of knit!

mo 5" P n 7 ? mdlvld “»h™ <he free individual must
5° <h P™*' “ d P u bbc life, he mult wort,
individual r CVe ’ mUSt dut y as Clbzen As f fee

Cod ft, I “ sT” 11 * ™> of hi! freedom to

Sd JT 11 Purt-oakr. he ,» el-

mil. co-operation, charity,
fraternal aympathy, „ „ blt £ ^

CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM

79

doing and shortcoming in American public life It might
be useful, however, to review several political and social
practices that have put sharp checks on the vaunted free
play of liberty, equality, democracy, and individualism
The first and greatest of these is constitutionalism, the
reality of which is even more conservative than the ideal
The Constitution was written by men who believed in free
government and thus wanted the majority will to prevail,
but only after it had been strained through a variety of in-
genious devices and had proved itself "persistent and
undoubted ” Later generations of Americans have not, in
practice, retreated one inch from the realistic assumptions
of the Framers Although they have broadened the elector-
ate to nearly the maximum limits, they, too, have acted
as if they did not trust each other very far Written con-
stitutions, the separation of powers, federalism, bicameral-
ism, the Presidential veto, judicial review, representation,
staggered elections, civil supremacy, the delaying mecha-
nisms in the machinery of Congress — these arrangements
are the diffusion and restraint of popular power in the
grand manner We had our chance, in the first two decades
of the twentieth century, to democratize our system thor-
oughly with devices like initiative, referendum, and re-
call, and we proved beyond a doubt that we preferred
representative, limited, divided, delay ng government
In no free country is concerted reform so difficult to
achieve, and we may assume that Americans prefer it
this way Their conservative Constitution is both symbol
of unity and servant of stability

The American two-party system has long been the de-
spair of doctrinaires at home and abroad Most critics have
focused their scorn upon the motley make-up of each
party and the huge gulf between promise and perform-
ance It is possible that there is a more substantial reason
for their despair the American party system is the most
conservative political arrangement in the Western world,
designed by accident or Providence to delay, check, and
frustrate the ill-digested plans of men while permitting
them to govern m a responsible and popular manner What
bothers the impatient liberal or radical most about the

78

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

ion* The few Americans who think this way in the privacy
of their dens — oak-paneled, not bone-littered — are no
part of the American political mind The American in-
dulges — one might say that he often wallows — in nostalgia,
but he does not really want to go back to the days of
Washington and Jefferson He might like to recreate what
he thinks was the moral climate of those wonderful days,
or perhaps that of the hardly less wonderful days in Abi-
lene under Taft or Independence under McKinley, but
he is a practical fellow who knows that what’s done is
done, and who hopes to domesticate rather than eradi-
cate television and atomic energy While he draws con-
sciously on his past, he lives in the present and looks for-
ward keenly to the future His mind is a prominent Lib-
eral structure resting on a solid conservative foundation
Radicalism and reaction, Bolshevism and Toryism, “have
no house" with the American.

In every society, healthy or otherwise, a gap stretches visi-
bly between ideal and reality — between what people say
and what people do, between what they think in public
and what they assume in private In no country m the
Western world has this gap been so wade as in the United
States In a showdown between Liberalism and conserva-
tism in American political thought. Liberalism wins out
nine times out of ten In a showdown between liberalism
and conservatism in American political practice, conserva-
tism wans out almost as monotonously Wc have a long-
standing habit of doing political business and carrying on
social relations in a conservative way So, for that matter,
do all successful free countries This does not mean that
our practices are illiberal. It does mean that they fad to
match the high ideals to which we are pledged in our
tradition

I do not propose to rewash soiled linen, we Americans
wash our soiled linen so often that it never gets a chance
to dry We all know how far short our performance as
citizens, voters, and taxpayers falls from the spirit of moral
emocracy and the letter of the written law, and it would
seem superfluous to present additional evidence of wrong-

CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM

81

of collectivism Our tradition makes much of nghts, our
constitutions and laws make almost as much of duties The
American myth is the man who wall not be fenced in, the
American reality is the man who is drafted to die in far
places and for dun purposes In America, as in all free and
stable countries, tbe community has had primacy after all.

The ideal of free individualism is sobered by reality in
a second direction, we, too, like Burke's England, have
had our “little platoons " We have not wandered about
like homeless atoms, with no buffer between each of us
and the great community We have had our Gemeinschaf-
ten, organic communities like the family and neighbor-
hood Wo have had our wonderfully American CetcUschaf-
ten, voluntary associations like churches, lodges, orders,
unions, corporations, co-operatives, leagues, and partner-
ships In many instances these groups have arisen and en-
compassed individuals in so natural and unforced a man-
ner as to seem themselves almost organic Co-operation
and intercourse, not nigged individualism, have been the
Amencan reality. We are beginning to see at last, through
the haze of our mythology, that the men who lived on
the frontier depended mightily on one another for security
and prospenty Together, not alone, they cleared land,
raised barns, husked com, defended their families, and
preserved law and order Together men have built
America and are building it even now

Still another example of practical conservatism is our
class structure The American ideal exalts equality and
decnes class, Amencan reality sacrifices equality to liberty
and assumes the natural existence of class Our class struc-
ture is, to be sure, peculiarly Amencan it is fluid, flexible,
and open-ended, it displays a comforting bulge in the
middle, its chief entenon is achievement Yet it is a class
structure, though ordinary Americans feci uneasy when
talking about it and oratoncal Amencans call such talk
treason The evidence presented by men like Robert Lynd
and Lloyd Warner, even when taken with the salt of skep-
ticism and pepper o£ patriotism, leaves an unpleasant taste
that cannot be killed by mumbled incantations about
equality and human dignity The concept of class. Amen-

8o

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

American two-party system is that it practically never, no
matter which party wins and on what promises, produces
» government willing and able to put through a program
, «?”> u gj*g<nng reform The two-party system works to
lengthen the delays built into the constitutional process
° 2“ e “ ectlve means for keeping hostile classes,
, gs, and sections together Most Americans,
mm®,* f IS ^ Ut . ,0 ^ 1S wa y» express their hearty ap-

proval of a political arrangement that has served to stabi-
S T 7 ' ? d conserVe In end, they agree with Her-

2? our ***** for & ** •*«**
,S ^ pnce of Un,0n ” F ° r most Amen-
l .h-La ,. Ca conserv atives masquerading as sentimental

3 F— »- no.

tweonetfwwn! '*?'• * ven among progressives of the
pnmank I ^ bas .' )een one government that cents
P ™Z P ,ot “' <i‘ individual s rights and clear flic
" > "J ^ Th * “““votive feelity, m Amenea

b '“ «“ »' eovemm«. that mter.
the mdiiad r ‘ ® ul ^ e 00,1 reduce the free play ol
»lway> m behalf of a larger in-

may be .rgL^ tS, ,h co ”“” u » lt x" « pnbhc' It

plain rei/ifv bUl ““ s a seman tic escape from the

have counted he* *7”* We ’ mdividu ahstic Americans,
mto line Such V | y 011 6 0Vem ment to bring individuals
W W totr ^ 31 CumQ SMs *» d Louis tfartz
that "from the val ^ P 02n!ef %« hi the former’s words,

fraditionaUy been ho S £,leT POS ?° n ^ Americans have

meat, we W l ? t0actl(W b y the federal govem-
Amencans have ** mfprence *“*

action undertaken^ JT* f° St,le to coUectlve

horn being boshle to enfl t™* IOCal govemrnent * ” Far
always insisted tha# , co ® ectlve action, Americans have
o' government,

IfcTj & CO™ ,<,Ve!s ' **« pontive steps m the
Ism has rlT ^T -ty Although Amencan P colIeetiv.

the individualist tradition 'Sh ti ‘"‘ ,f " re , "conulable mth
oaaroou, ,t ha, none die less been a form

CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM

83

in a tumult of innovation ” This is not, I insist, an entirely
new role for America, though it has grown in importance
under the menace of totalitarian radicalism We have
long been a citadel of conservatism, hut we and the world
alike have had trouble seeing ourselves clearly Now we
are looking at the whole course of our history with fresh
eyes, and we find, to our surprise, that America has been
no more cxpen mental than some countries and less experi-
mental than others in educabon, religion, social relations,
culture, art, law, and political mstitubons, that we have
been truly restless, experimental, unconcerned about
tradibon only m economics and technology Even here we
have stayed within significant limits We have tinkered
with machines and men more freely than with laws and
customs, and we still insist that society will absorb tech-
nology rather than technology derange society We ac-
claim automation, confident that we can enjoy its abun-
dance without having to abandon our cherished ways, we
shudder at Socialism, positive that it will smash them
beyond repair

The political American is the most conservabve of alL
Not since the early years of the Republic, when the neces-
sity was pressing, have we indulged freely in polibcal m-
venbon The move for “direct democracy” in the early
part of this century is the one possible excepbon to this
statement, and that never realized one quarter of its
aspnabons An Englishman, Lord Bryce, called our at-
tenhon forcefully to the manner in which the federal sys-
tem invites us “to try experiments m legislabon and ad-
ministration”, another Englishman, a sort of latter-day
Br yce, asked me recently why just once, in all the years
m all the states, no one had ever so much as proposed a
five-year tnal of the cabinet-parliamentary system Ne-
braska's unicameralism and Georgia’s eighteen-year vot-
ing law were not, I had to confess, the handiwork of a
fruly experimental people Even the Tennessee Valley
Authority is a product of chance rather than of conscious
purpose

Our social reforms, too, bear the stamp of pracbcal con-
servatism The United States, Arthur Schlesinger, sr , tells

8i

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

can style, lies deep in the American mind and shapes far
more of our social outlook and political practice than we
are even now prepared to admit Recognition of social
levels has persisted throughout our history Like our co-
lonial forebears, we have always thought in terms of "the
better sort," "the middling sort,'’ and “the poorer sort " It
is characteristic of Americans, practical conservatives and
sentimental Liberals to the end, that most of them place
themselves in “the middling sort "

We ask many things of our schools to teach our chd-
dren to read, write, figure, use their hands, ply a trade,
understand nature, enjoy leisure, appreciate culture, be
good citizens and good sports, and think constructively
The most important mandate we have given them, how-
ever, is to teach the children the ways of the fathers The
school has been guardian of tradition, instructor in patriot-
ism, preacher of morality, interpreter of fundamentals It
has taught Liberalism, but as tradition rather than rational
scheme The flag and the picture of Washington axe no
less standard equipment than the primer and blackboard
I do not mean to ndicule this great work If schools are
to be truly public, they must reflect the public's common
interests and agreements, and that, in America as m all
countries, means teaching ideals and facts that support
rather than subvert the established order This has been a
doubly important fun ebon of education in this new coun-
try, for our schools have shouldered the main burden of
integrating the immigrant’s children into American so-
ciety

This catalogue could be extended further It could be
argued, for one example, that the churches, with memo-
rable exceptions, have preached the Liberal gospel and
supported the conservative order, or, for another, that the
labor unions, again with memorable exceptions, have been
stabilizing rather than dislocating forces on the American
scene Yet enough has been said to give credence to the
belief that we have overplayed myth and underestimated
reality The American has been a long time digesting this
truth, but at last he is beginning to recognize that his
country, in Time’s words, “is the citadel of conservatism

CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM 83

in a tumult of innovation * This is not, I insist, an entirely
new role for America, though it has grown in importance
under the menace of totalitarian radicalism We have
long been a citadel of conservatism, but we and the world
alike have had trouble seeing ourselves clearly Now we
are looking at the whole course of our history with fresh
eyes, and we find, to our surprise, that America has been
no more experimental than some countries and less experi-
mental than others in education, religion, social relations,
culture, art, law, and political institutions, that we have
been truly restless, experimental, unconcerned about
tradition only in economics and technology Even here we
have stayed within significant limits We have tinkered
with machines and men more freely than with laws and
customs, and we still insist that society will absorb tech-
nology rather than technology derange society We ac-
claim automation, confident that we can enjoy its abun-
dance without having to abandon our cherished ways, we
shudder at Socialism, positive that it will smash them
beyond repair

The political American is the most conservative of all
Not since the early years of the Republic, when the neces-
sity was pressing, have we indulged freely m political in-
vention The move for “direct democracy" in the early
part of this century is the one possible exception to this
statement, and that never realized one quarter of its
aspirations An Englishman, Lord Bryce, called our at-
tention forcefully to the manner in which the federal sys-
tem invites us “to try experiments in legislation and ad-
ministration”, another Englishman, a sort of latter-day
Bryce, asked me recently why just once, in all the years
in all the states, no one had ever so much as proposed a
five-year trial of the cabinet-parliamentary system Ne-
braska's unicameralism and Georgia’s eighteen-year vot-
ing law were not, I had to confess, the handiwork of a
truly experimental people Even the Tennessee Valley
Authority is a product of chance rather than of conscious
purpose

Our social reforms, too, bear the stamp of practical con-
servatism The United States, Arthur Scblesinger, sr , tells

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

8 4

us, has “nearly always set the pace for the Old World In
reform zeal," yet the zeal has not been allowed to get out
of hand "The surprising thing," Professor Schlesinger ad-
mits at another page of his American as Reformer, “is that
the tempo of reform in America was not far more precipi-
tate” The American has kept reform, like almost every-
thing else, withm the bounds of tradition and reality
Some of our citizens have lived in phalansteries and others
have been nudists, some have worn bloomers and others
have li\ed on wheat germ, some have fought capital pun-
ishment and others have bid us repent or die Most of us,
one acknowledges somewhat wistfully, have conformed
to pattern and been bored by reformers Our successful
reforms, those to which a majority of the people eventu-
ally lent their support, were in the realm of moral conduct
and touched established institutions only incidentally Tho
appeals of their proponents were pitched in conventional
terms We were not called upon to scrap or transform some
malfunctioning part of the going order, but to put it in the
hands of better men or to rebuild it to the original specifi-
cations of our reverend fathers As it has been said of the
English, it may be said even more confidently of the
Americans “The best way to recommend a novelty to
them is to make them believe it is a revival ” We believe
m inevitable progress — along a track already laid down
and not to be jumped Whether we stand or move, we
like to do it super antiquas vias That, more often than
not, has been the style of political and social development
m the United States

For several decades, Samuel Eliot Morison has pointed
out, most histones of the United States have followed “the
Jefferson-Jackson-F D Roosevelt line" There was a time,
fifty years ago, when our historians presented “the Federal-
lSt-Whig-Repubbcan point of view”, there may be com-
ing a time (heralded by men like Louis Hacker and Allan
Nevms) when “the wise and good and neh” will again be
given preferential treatment, even a time when the Alien
and Sedition Acts, the Fugitive Slave Act, and the Palmer
raids will be presented as Good Things in American his-

Ctl'CTIYATTtVI JL-*n3 minuni 8j

lory Yet t’>e present. rrvwt of B* trill learn our V-ivni
from (nm w**» wri’e fei t!*« Lfl**r»I tradition. wto »ec t xtr
lJlteey it a grand luttle |r(«trn "fir*!" progressives and
lotP tntrmts and leave ttnaU tlonU wl kh tram we
thmU all be m,

Ah!***;*!! few of tn will caril at llJi warmhearted ap-
proach lo Arwilran hlitjfy, we Can built that th* «p-
proach alio U* IotI bradcd. rvcfessor Mrtimn actnowh
edgrs iKat ’the ]rf’rr»-*tU-> Inc H tlx- one t» it the main
itrnn cf United Statei 'irtmtir’ lu* fe!Vrwrd,* Imt
add I "I llio lr!^»T LSlI there Ktt l»m ll"^rthrf t no
moth of It. rx) that iV jvrwrt ituilxn li unlulineed
and unhealthy, tmd.ng lo create a *nt el nroUcnl itrfrtv
type. NVe need a UmlnJ States Mil cry written from a
mncly con tor's !i>e point d rirw* Wr nerd morr than
tint- a «hoV ktH cf 'uvly rourmtivf* hiitotin,
articlr*, monographs, anti biographies that W anew, not
only at our ccr.wrvsthri and aptalnti, but at the heroes
and henries of the pn g irni w tradition. For example,
while tome htitorurn tmrtur to prs-wot V. ilium*. Frank-
lei, Jefferson. and Jackson a* uncommon democrats, others
might present them at charactmitic Americans-- •**
democrats with doubt*, pro g rmisrs with nostalgia, re-
former* with a feeing for the limits of ir/erro.

la the briefest manner, awl (« the limited purpose of
dnrbpmj a disputable thesis, this is exactly what 1 plan
to do in the rest of ihi* chapter; to re-era mine the most
notable of our progressive movements and democratic
heroes foe evidence of reahen. traditionalism, restoration*
fain, and propcriy<onscioujne»s, for evidence, that is to lay,
of conservatism. Thii will be, let it be clearly understood, a
narrow gauge Inspection, carried through in auch a way as
to rtnphajue the conservative aide of their thought and
practice Yet this approach l* essentia! to an understanding
of the causes and character of American progressist im, and
thus of the American tradition The reader should take
care not to inject any more conservatism into (his interpre-
tation of American liistory than 1 have Injected myself
Whatever one may aay about mm like Jeflmon and
Woodrow Wilson, one ought not, even semantically, class

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

86

them as conservatives They were Lbcrab, great liberals,
men who sponsored bold reforms calculated to lead to a
larger measure of liberty and equality Yet they were
liberals “American style,” and any honest accounting of
their fdeals and activities wall show strong traces of con-
servatism Here is a merely suggestive outline for a “sanely
conservative” history of American ptogressivism. Here
are the movers and shakers seen in the harsh light of con-
servatism

The democratic heroes of the colonial penod set a pat-
tern that later generations of progressives were to follow
faithfully The three famous "democrats" of this early age
~~Roger Wiliams of Providence, John Wise of Ipswich,
and Benjamin Franklin, “a citizen of Boston who dwelt
for a little while m Philadelphia”— were conservatives In
many of thefr ideas and methods No man In American
history has a more impressive claim than Wiliams to the
title of prophetic radical, yet no man ever made more, in
theory and practice, of the truth that liberty rests on law,
government on authority, rights on responsibilties. Hu
famous letter of 1655 to the town of Providence — -“There
goes many a ship to sea"— cncs out for rereading by those
who insist on painting him in unrelev ed radical colors
Wise, the gadfly of oligarchy in church and state, pitched
his arguments for Congregational democracy in terms of
the revival of ancient ways and restoration of ancestral
faith Franklin was considerably less of a stormy petrel
than Wiliams or Wise He mado a peace of convenience
with every order in which he lived, and prophesied that
liberty, which he loved dearly and served nobly, would
be won by slow stages along familar paths As for the
other so-called radicals of the colonial penod, especially
those on the great frontier, they were for the most part
men whose quarrel was with the established order as ad-
ministered rather than constituted It is all but impossible
to discover a genuine radical on the colonial frontier The
limited radicalism of the old West is made especially clear
in the modest petitions and almost apologetic actions of
the North Carolina Regulators
The American Revolution was as respectful of the past

CONSERVATISM Afro LIBERALISM 87

as an authentic, luge-scale rebellion can ever be If the
Americans were the most successful revolution anes of all
times, they were revolutionaries by chance rather than
choice Until the last few months before independence,
the steady purpose of their resistance was to restore an
old order rather than build a new one Even after July 4,
1776, they confined themselves largely to a war of libera-
tion They had little desire to make the world over The
world — at least their comer of it — had already been made
over to their general satisfaction Their goal was simply to
consolidate, then expand by cautious stages, the large
measure of liberty and prosperity that was part of their
established way of life In the words with which Burke
honored those who unseated James II, the Americans
sought to "make the revolution a parent of settlement,
and not a nursery of future revolutions " In their practical
and theoretical arguments, and in those triumphs of con-
structive statesmanship, the first state constitutions, they
proved themselves the world’s most conservative radicals,
the world’s most sober revolutionists Washington, not
Sam Adams, was the man of the Revolution, the Massachu-
setts Constitution of 1780, as much as the Declaration of
Independence, « xpressed its spirit

The comparative sobriety of American progressmsm
was displayed in three events between Yorktown and
Washington’s second inaugural in the limited scope of the
"hideous rebellion" led by Captain Daniel Shays, another
reluctant rebel who objected, perhaps more violently than
necessary, to the way a good order was being badly ad-
ministered, in the manner m which such opponents of the
Constitution as Patrick Henry, George Mason, Richard
Henry Lee, and Elbndge Gerry appealed to old ways and
virtues and branded it a “dangerous innovation”, and in
the manner in which, after their defeat, they accepted the
Constitution and went out to capture the seats of power
according to the rules of the game The only change they
demanded m the rules of 1787 was the addition of a Bill
of Rights, which was a defense of liberties already won
rather than a vision of liberties hoped for No one fact in
our history so illuminates the character ol the American

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

people and their progressive wing as the refusal of the
anti-Federahsts, and of all of their descendants, to push
for a second Constitutional Convention
Thomas Jefferson was, in every sense of the word, a
genuine liberal, so genuine, self-conscious, and inspiring
indeed that he will remain forever the First Source of
American Liberalism I would not dream of converting
him to conservatism at this late date As liberal and not
radical, however, he showed a sober streak of conservatism
in theory and employed a healthy measure ot conserva-
tism in action Extreme Leftists, like extreme Rightists,
do him no honor in claiming him for their own I am not
going to crush my readers with quotations from Jefferson,
we all quote him too much and too smugly (As a Know-
Nothing candidate for Congress observed, his words can
be used “every which-a-way, he wnt so much") I am
going to suggest — well, with the aid of just a few quota-
tions — that he had much to say in his lifetime about the
corruptibility of men ("Human nature is the same on
every side of the Atlantic"), the danger of unbndled
popular power (“One hundred and seventy-three despots
would surely he as oppressive as one"), the necessity of
constitutional restraints (“In questions of power, then, let
no more he heard of confidence in man, but bind him down
from mischief by the chains of the Constitution"); the
hmits of change ("I am certainly not an advocate for fre-
quent and untried changes ui laws and institutions”) , the
need for superior men (“The natural aristocracy I con-
sider as the most precious gift of nature, for the instruc-
tion, the trusts, and government of society"), and the
necessity of preserving the established order, which he
rightly considered to be menaced by industrialization and
urbanization ("When we get piled upon one another in
large cities, as in Europe, we shall . go to eating one
another as they do there”)

Jefferson’s actions were always more conservative than
his words He accepted the Constitution, struck for re-
forms long overdue, and failed, except in the repeal of the
Judiciary Act of 1801 and repudiation of the Sedition Act,
to make any real dent in the Federalist legacy As Presi-

CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM 89

dent he governed in the spirit of his first inaugural address:
"We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists*’ Jeffer-
son’s hope was to build, on foundations already settled, a
yeoman republic where "virtue and wisdom" would ani-
mate a republican government and property would be
broadly distributed in an agrarian economy It was Hamil-
ton, not Jefferson, who had his eye on the American fu-
ture

Andrew Jackson, it could be said, was Thomas Jeffer-
son with a few more muscles and a few less scruples Cer-
tainly it is a mistake to see m him, or m the movement he
symbohzed, the marks of true radicalism He, too, dreamed
of a yeoman republic, and his supporters remained faith-
ful to the ideal of liberty and property under law The
fight between Jackson and Biddle, like that between Jef.
ferson and Hamilton, was a contest between champions
of two kinds of property Jackson, hke Jefferson, could
nghtly claim that his land was the foundation of the in-
herited order The old hero evoked, writes Marvin Meyers,
"the image of a calm and stable order of republican sim-
plicity, content with the modest rewards of useful toil,"
against "an alien spirit of nsk and novelty, greed and ex-
travagance, rapid motion and complex dealings" His
presidential messages overflow with veneration for the
founding fathers, his vigorous use of the executive power
was aimed squarely at restoring their balanced system of
government In the movement to which Jackson gave his
name one may certainly find, side by side with bumptious
egalitarianism and stirrings of industrial capitalism, a
“powerful strain of restoration, a stiffening of republican
backs against the busy tinkenngs, the restless projects of
innovation and reform"

The anti-slavery movement lends additional support to
the thesis advanced in this review of American progressiv-
lsm Rarely has a free and decent people moved so gingerly
against a flagrant evil The abolitionists, the only radicals
involved m the controversy, were notoriously few and
were out of step with Northern sentiment, an amazing
number of them, Rowland Berthoff has pointed out, "were
genteel folk of the old order” The typical anti-slavery

CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM

9 *

racy was the nearest thing to constitutional radicalism ever
subscribed to by any sizable number of people in this
country Yet he, too, spoke in terms of a happier past and
sought only to re-create the old Republic of diffused
power, equal opportunity, and small capitalist enterprise
Theodore Roosevelt has already undergone so full a
posthumous conversion to conservatism that we can pass
him by with this apt comment from Richard Hofstadter
"His own inner impulses were quite conservative, and it is
only as an astute and flexible conservative, not as a pro-
gressive or reformer, that he can be sympathetically ex-
plained " Woodrow Wilson, an American who had actually
read Burke, built the liberalism of bis Presidency on the
bedrock of conservatism Through all his days he remained
a sentimental traditionalist, a severe moralist, a devoted
constitutionalist His New Freedom bad a limited goal
to jestore the kind of competitive economy in which
small enterprise could flourish He used government pri-
marily "for the purpose of recovering what seems to have
been lost our old variety and freedom" His pro-
grcssivism looked back as often as it looked ahead “If I
did not believe that to be progressive was to preserve the
essentials of our institutions, I for one could not be a
progressive "

Was Franklin D Roosevelt a radical, liberal, or con-
servative? Was the New Deal revolution, evolution, or
preservation? Questions like these are not easily answered,
certainly not in this generation We are all too close to
Mr Roosevelt, too ardently enlisted for or against his
New Deal Yet I do think, with some reservations, that
when future historians come to grips with man and move-
ment, they will agree on these points

To the extent that he had a political philosophy — and
it was sometimes hard to find one beneath hi$ pragmatism
— Roosevelt was a Liberal His optimistic view of human
nature, his oblmousness of sin and the tragedy of history,
his devotion to the idea of progress, his uncritical accept-
ance of democracy — these were the outward signs of an
inner commitment to the whole Jefferson To the extent
that he had a political program — and it was sometimes

9 *

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

hard to find one beneath his opportunism — Roosevelt was
a liberal. Hu receptiveness to new ideas, his capacity {of
adventure, his devotion to tho underdog — these were the
credentials of a bold progressive Yet his liberalism tipped
over only rarely into radicalism, for it was held in balance
by healthy infusions of traditionalism and conservatism,
elements in the Roosevelt syndrome that are on public
display in the old house at Hydo Park. Roosevelt’s dis-
satisfaction with the way Arnenca had worked out was fax
from general He was convinced that a few imaginative
reforms — for example, those services or controls now pro-
vided by the Securities and Exchango Commission, Ten-
nessee Valley Authority, National Labor Relations Board,
and Social Security Administration — would make the old
order as good as new and the new order as good as the
old He always denied that he was doing anything that
Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Wilson, and Theodore Roose-
velt would not ha vo done in the same fix. His own mature
estimate of tho effects of the New Deal — no revolution,
some evolution, much preservation — was as accurate as
anyone’s. There is little doubt that the New Deal pushed
mto unexplored country, there is equally little doubt that
it follow td directions pointed out by the New Freedom
and the Square Deal Although many Americans think of
Roosevelt as a dangerous radical, a judgment that astounds
foreign observers, he is still just as roundly denounced by
hard-bitten radicals for having failed to seize a golden op-
portunity — a thoroughly frightened people — to work a
major transformation in American life

In the end, this “thoroughly frightened people" may
catch the primary attention of historians They were never
so frightened as to want a new game under new rules
and with a new deck. They wanted only, and Roosevelt
promised no more, a New Deal In the darkest days of
the depression they gave 38,000,000 votes to the two old
parties, less than 1,000,000 to the Socialists, and exactly
102,991 to the Communists Had the new President tried
to give them more than a new deal all around, they would
have risen up — as they were later to do over his plan to
"pack the Court" — and refused to accept it Actually,

CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM

93

Roosevelt needed checks on his opportunism rather than
cn his progressmsm In a speech at Syracuse in the cam-
paign of 1936, he gave this mature account of his basic
philosophy.

Out of the strains and stresses of these years we
have come to see that the true conservative is the
man who lias a real concern for injustices and takes
thought against the day of reckoning The true con-
servative seeks to protect the system of private prop-
erty and free enterprise by correcting such injustices
and inequalities as arise from it The most serious
threat to our institutions comes from those who re-
fuse to face the need for change Liberalism becomes
the protection for the farsighted conservative

I am that land of conservative because 1 am that
land of liberal

Sixteen years later, m Columbus, Ohio, another can-
didate of “the party of the people,” Adlai Stevenson, spoke
his mmd on liberalism and conservatism

The strange alchemy of time has somehow con-
verted the Democrats into the truly conservative
party of this country — tho party dedicated to con-
serving all that is best, and budding solidly and safely
on these foundations The Republicans, by contrast,
are behaving like the radical party — the party of the
reckless and the embittered, bent on dismantling in-
stitutions which have been bmlt solidly into our social
fabnc .

I owe it to you to say that I think of our social-
security system and our Democratic Party’s sponsor-
ship of the social reforms and advances of the past
two decades as conservatism at its best Certainly
there could be nothing more conservative than to
change when change is due, to reduce tensions and
wants by wise changes, rather than to stand pat stub-
bornly, until, like King Canute, we are engulfed by
relentless forces that will always go too far

94

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

These words are a fitting climax to this outline for a
“sanely conservative" history of American progressivism
We could bolster this thesis with additional evidence —
for example, by calling attention to the life and hard times
of our third parties and to a labor movement whose giants
have been Samuel Gompers, John L Lewis, William
Green, and Philip Murray, men who reflected the temper
of their constituents and fought for a better life within
rather than against the American economic system We
could even go back a hundred years for a closer look at
Emerson and his "radical” friends It is more to the point,
however, simply to recall the election of 1952, when a
conservative liberal and a liberal conservative, each speak-
ing of progress along familiar paths, competed for the
favor of the people It will not be the last such election in
American History

This review offers a useful key to American intellectual
history, one that may serve to unlock some of the confusion
about liberalism and conservatism m the American mind.
To use it satisfactorily, we must be far more explicit than
we have hitherto been about the distinction between
change, a transformation of values or institutions m which
government plays no direct part, and reform, a transfor-
mation of values or institutions through the conscious use
of political authority Industrialization, which puts chd-
dren to work in factories, is change, child-labor legisla-
tion, which takes them out again, is reform When men
build railroads or invent assembly lines or convert atomic
energy into power, thus transforming the lives of millions
of people, that is change When other men pass laws to
regulate railroads or raise wages of men on assembly lines
or license producers of atomic power, that is reform Now,
if we look again at our history, we find that many of our
so-called conservatives, the "wise and good and rich” on
the American Eight, were in an important sense not con-
servatives at all While they could always be counted on
to oppose reform, they were casual or at best ambivalent
about change la pouzt of fact, the}’ had sa tataiense stabs
in social change — spe ci ficall y , in the transformation of this

CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM gj

country from a predominantly agrarian -rural to a predomi-
nantly industrial-urban society They did not always know
what they were doing as they built, mined, tinkered, and
produced, or financed others to do these things for them
Those who looked up at all from the exciting business of
exploiting their own and other people's energies were
able to argue that their wonderful works were fulfilling
the promise of the American Republic Yet they worked
vast changes in every part of our system- They were,
indeed, among the most marvelous agents of social and
moral change the world has ever known, and it does them
something less than historical justice to classify them sim-
ply as conservatives.

The liberals, on the other hand — the great progressives
hke Jefferson, Jackson, Bryan, La Follette, and Wilson—
were deeply troubled by tbe restless, untamed surge to-
ward the Hamiltonian dream of busy factories and bustling
cities. Each of these men, in his own generation, saw the
order he knew and loved being weakened by the rapid
advances of invention and technology And each, m his
own way, looked to reform to chasten change and mitigate
its worst effects The pre-Civd War progressives, com-
mitted by circumstance to "wise and frugal government,”
thought it would be enough to undo the schemes that
Hamilton and his followers had devised to bolster finance
and encourage new industry They confined themselves,
with little real success, to blocking subsidies and reducing
tariffs At the same time, they pushed for political and
constitutional reforms that would bring more fanners and
workers into the lists to challenge "the wise and good and
rich” for the seats of political power

After the Civil War, when at last it became apparent
to both sides that government was alone equal to the
challenge of change, the progressives shifted their atti-
tude toward political authority from hostility to sympathy,
while the men of the Right, who were willing to use gov-
ernment to their own ends but not to see others use it
against them, moved into a posture of determined opposi-
tion to reform The paradoxes in the American experience
had come to full flower, the agents of change were op-

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

96

posed to reform, the opponents of change committed to iL
Small wonder that words like liberalism and conservatism
lost much of their meaning for Americans, especially since
both sides in the struggle were now arguing in tho lan-
guage of full-blooded Liberalism

This chapter has already spawned so many generaliza-
tions and conclusions that I will say but one word more
and get on to tho next. When I have spoken of the
American political mind, I hav e meant, of course, the great
tradition to which most Americans have been deeply com-
mitted In this mind, we havo noted, a constant tension has
existed between liberalism and corners a turn, with the
former dominant through most of our lustory and the lat-
ter gam mg strength slowly over the long hauL What
ought to bo pointed out in addition and conclusion is that
each rndiv idual mind m America, with few exceptions, is a
microcosm of tho total mind. It, too, is progressive and
traditional, idealistic and realistic, experimental and con-
ventional, anxious to see tho future and concerned to
honor tho past It is tho mind of a man who lives in a so-
ciety that has been successful from the start, in whom
temperamental conservatism, possessive conservatism, and
traditionalism combine to form a solid foundation

At the same time, it is tho mini of a man whose hopes
and mcmoncs alike are framed in terms of human liberty.
If it is true that in the minds of most Americans, as in
their political struggles, the desire to go ahead and the de-
sire to be at rest are constantly at war— with sometimes
liberalism, sometimes conservatism taking command— it is
also true that even m our most conservative moments,
when wo want most to be at rest, we come to rest on a
tradition — the famous Liberal tradition — that speaks out
loud and clear m the language of liberty and equality,
democracy and progress, adventure and opportunity This
is the reason that no one, neither the foreign observer
nor the American himself, will ever quite understand what
the American says and does Tho American, like his tradi-
tion, is deeply liberal, deeply conservative. If this 11 a par-

IV

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM,
1607-1865

O R

Three Cheers for the Federalists
and One for Calhoun

The men on the Right have been with us from the begin-
nmg For more than three centuries all manner of Ameri-
cans have fought with much success to maintain the estab-
lished political and social order It has not always been
easy to tell Right from Left The Right, like the Left, has
shifted ground markedly under the pressures of social
advance, the progressive attacks of one generation have
often been the conservative defense of the next Ijke the
Left, too, it has enjoyed no monopoly of virtue, wisdom,
and success or of wickedness, folly, and failure

Yet there is a certain unity, if not always a conscious
continuity, m the loose succession of groups and move-
ments that have been styled “conservative’* The Amen-
can Right has displayed several persistent characteristics.
Although it has numbered men from all classes and call-
mgs, it has attracted an especially large proportion of the
well bom, well placed, and well-to-do These men, actu-
ally a minority of those Americans willing to be counted

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

against reform, have provided most of the energy, talent,
meditation, and money that have kept tiro Right in busi-
ness Second, it has opposed consistently the seizure of
political power by movements dedicated primarily to the
interests of farmers or workers, which means that it has
also opposed most of those reforms through which Amer-
ica achieved its present condition of political and social
democracy. Finally, it has alwajs been skeptical of the
Liberal tradition and thus of the more extravagant prom-
ises of American democracy, even when it has applauded
the tradition and shouted extravagant promises for its
own purposes Its attitude toward democracy has shifted
over the years from savage contempt to measured accept-
ance, but it has never looked with equanimity on "the
rule of the untutored majority.”

This chapter and the next are a compact history of the
political thinking of tlio American Right from the time of
the first settlements to 1945 Since the Right has rarely
gone into action until menaced by the forces of reform,
wo must take note of the movements that shook its accus-
tomed repose Since it has made political thought the
servant of political action, we must Uko note of its success
in achieving objectives and in shaping the course of our
history Most important for the stated purposes of this
book, we must search for the affinities and incongruities af
American conservatism and the Conservative tradition
The American Right has been conservative in intent.
How conservative has it been in influence, how Conserva-
tive in philosophy?

The ideas of the colonial Right earned over strongly into
the early years of the Republic, and vve are therefore en-
gaged in something more than idle antiquanamsm or fa-
cile ''tradition making" when w'e examine the record of
three early conservative movements the Fun tan oli-
garchy, the conservative Whigs, and the Arnmean Tories
There were determined conservativ es before John Adams,
a successful Right before the Federalists
The grave, godly rulers of early Massachusetts and
Connecticut were the first sizable company to occupy the

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-1865 99

American Right The Puntan oligarchy, for such these
men and then government have been properly styled, be-
gan the defense of their way of life firmly seated in the
places of power Radicals m England, men with contempt
for the established cider and with detailed blueprints for
a new one, they became — thanks to a bracing ocean voy-
age — conservatives in America, men whose blueprints
were now the foundation of an order established to their
liking From the beginning this order was threatened by
dissent and secularization, and by the demands of less for-
tunate settlers — many of them as good Puritans as the
oligarchs — for a larger voice in public affairs The conserv-
ative Puritans met the “phanatick Opinionists" and "Sow-
ers of Sedition" with a political philosophy which, when
stripped of its piety and petulance, proclaimed or assumed
these principles

the depravity of all men and political incompetence of
most;

the natural inequality of men and consequent inevita-
bility of orders and classes,
government by an ethical aristocracy, chosen by and
from men with a stake, both religious and economic, in
the going order,

government which, for the glory of God, the good or-
der of the community, and the Salvation of souls, might
regulate the lives and enterprises of men to the most mi-
nute detail,

the union, indeed oneness, of church and state,
the existence, in the Scriptures, of **a perfect rule for
the direction and government of all men in all duties
which they are to perform to God and men ,

the consequent necessity that men obey the laws and
defend the traditions of a society based on this divine
blueprint,

the confinement of change and reform to that which
can and must take place m the hearts of men, and finally,
the preciousness of liberty, but of liberty, in John Win-
thiop's words, "to that only which is good, just, and hon-
est," a "liberty maintained and exercised in a way of sub-
jection to authority"

100

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Government by the favored few, the primacy of the
community, reverence for tho established order, aversion
to change— these were the marks of the notable political
philosophy, a land of incipient American conservatism,
that moved men like John Wintbrop, John Davenport,
John Cotton, Nathaniel Ward, John Eliot, William Stough-
ton, Samuel Willard, and all tho Mathers Physical envi-
ronment, human nature, English law and tradition, reli-
gious dissent, and even somo of their own ideas and
institutions worked relentlessly to undercut their hopes
for a holy commonwealth, a wilderness Zion that would
heal a sickly world by the force of good cramp Ic Yet their
influence, both good and bad, is upon us even today. As
the best of their teaching* havo given strength to our
democracy, so the worst of them, tho harsh principles of
the oligarchs, he deep in the minds of many men on the
Right.

Political debate in the latter half of tho colonial period
was earned on almost exclusively in tho language of Eng-
lish Whiggery, and tho men of tho Right joined this de-
bate with vigor and success A few well-placed gentlemen
m each colony were so committed to tho Crown,
drenched in Stuart tradition, or anxious for Anglican re-
spectability that they talked like descendants of James I
and Sir Robert 1'ilmcr, but most colonial conservatives
read their lessons with John Locke and other apologists for
the Glorious Revolution They stressed those elements in
the Whig tradition that rationalized the "government by
gentry" found in most of the colonies a balanced consti-
tution, a harmonious order of ranks and classes, instru-
ments of education that taught respect for old wa)s, insti-
tutions of religion that preached obedience and virtue,
substantial property qualifications for the suffrage and of-
fice-holding, a pattern of representation that favored more
settled areas, and the balancing of liberty with the duty
of obedience to legitimate authonty

The hard core of conservative Whiggery was unstinting
devotion to the British Constitution, "the best model of
Government that can be framed by mortals “ Cadwallader

101

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-1865

Colden of New York spoke lie mind of the colonial con-
servative

It seems evident to me that it is most prudent in
us to keep as near as possible to that plan which our
mother country has for so many ages experienced to
be best and which has been preserved at such vast
expense of blood and treasure

This was the solemn mission of men like the Hutch m-
sons of Massachusetts, De Lanceys of New York, and
Carters of Virginia to make the British Constitution work
in the American wilderness, chiefly by preserving the so-
cial, economic, and political leadership of gentlemen
pledged to serve the public while they served them-
selves These men occupied a favored position in an order
modeled as faithfully as possible on that of the old coun-
try, and they intended to hold it For some, like Colden,
this meant primary loyalty to Crown and governor For
others, like Richaid Bland of Virginia, it meant primary
loyalty to colony and assembly For all it meant obdurato
opposition to the few outspoken progressives and many
sdent malcontents in the ranis of the less fortunate

We must not forget the Tones, the Loyalists of 1776,
in this account of the early Right, for most of them stayed
in Amenca and swelled the ranks of post-Rev olutionary
conservatism They were able to make this silent transi-
tion without hypocrisy or change of heart because most
of them bad not been Tones at all, but conservative
Whigs Loyalists ike Jonathan Boucher of Maryland and
Virginia, who proclaimed the necessity of unqualified
obedience to constituted authority, were in a clear minor-
ity. More typical of the breed were Joseph Calloway of
Pennsylvania and Daniel Dulany, jr , of Maryland, con-
servative Whigs who moved or were pushed reluctantly
into opposition to violent rebellion In the end, because
of temperament and circumstance, these men proved
themselves undoubted conservatives- They could protest
and petition, but they could not take up arm*.

The contributions of the colonial conservatives are tinu

COMEKVATUM IV AUEHJCA

VOl

fairly stated by their most sympathetic modem chronicler,
Leonard W Labor ce

It was not they primarily who gave tin* nation iU
distinctive and special character, who introduced
here the ideas of economic opportunity, religious
liberty , and political freedom whih we hko tu think
are fundamental doctrines of the American faith.
But it was the const natives, moic than any
others, who were responsible for the perpetuation in
a raw, new country of much that wjs bot in the cul-
tural heritage frum the Old World . . Without
them the physical separation from Lurope, the fron-
tier, and the new environment generally might well
have led tu the destruction of much tlut we hold im-
portant in our bvrs today.

In short, the colonial conservatives fulfilled tho con-
servative mission.

Wo have already taken sufficient note of tho conservative
nature of the American devolution. It is necessary only
to add that a good share of the military and political lead-
ership of this reluctant rebellion fell to men on Urn Bight
Patriots like Ceorgo Washington, Jolui Adams, William
Samuel Johnson, James Duane, Willum Livingston, Ed-
mund Pendleton, Landon Carter, Caitcr Braxton, diaries
Carroll, and Jolui Dickinson were especially anxious to
keep a tight rein on the course of tho rebellion and to op-
pose schemes of “die vulgar mob" that might hurry the
colonics "into a scene of anarchy" Their idea of revolu-
tion was separation from England wd little more They
hoped to Veep tho established order as intact as passible,
and in this order they, like tho colonial conservatives be-
fore them, intended to hold thur own As we know, they
were remarkably successful in realizing these hopes Ex-
cept for their resolute determination to hang on to their
privileges and responsibilities, the "revolution at homo"
would surely have been driven to a far more democratic
conclusion.

The enduring monument to their success is the Amen-

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-1865

103

can Constitution There is no need for us to rehash the
penis, plans, and pressures that led to Philadelphia and
z 7$7 ft should be enough to recall that certain men on
the Right were moved by the real and apparent disorders
of the 1780 s to act decisively in behalf of stability, prop-
erty, balanced government, national unity, and rule by
the gentry Having filled with distinction the incongruous
roles of rebels against royal and ancient authority, these
able conservatives now undertook to play the hardly less
incongruous roles of framers of a new constitution

The excellence of then handiwork is a tribute not only
to their genius for constructive statesmanship, but to their
alert conservatism and sense of continuity with the pash
Although a few of the ftamers fancied themselves free

agents with an “opportunity to observe what has been
nght, and what wrong in other states, and to profit by
them,” most of them recognized that no new scheme of
government would succeed unless it were to incorporate
the best features of colonial and, more remotely, Bnhsh
government The Constitution was an ingenious plan of

government chiefly m the sense that its creators made a
notably judicious selection of familiar techniques and
institutions There was little that was really novel in it It

was, indeed, as Raymond English has wntten, “largely a
codification of existing political wisdom and institutions.”
What was novel was the courage and skill with which this
assembly bound together past and future in a plan that
honored the interests of both.

If tlie framers were conservative in their choice of avail-

able materials, they were also conservative va their use of
them The chief impression one gets from Madison s Nates
w that our founding fathers were anxious to mate their
world safe against “an excess of democracy,” against the
will and whim of "men without property and principle*
They were therefore determined to create a diffused, lim-
ited, balanced form of government in which gentlemen
hie themselves would fill the leading positions. Far from
presenting a scheme that would have pleased the demo-
cratic sentiment of the time — unicameral legislature,
plural executive, annual election for all officers, manhood

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

104

suffrage, a grandiose biff of rights, an easy method of
amendment— they produced a Constitution with these
distinctly conservative features the separation of powers,
in fact and not just on paper, an imposing array of checks
and balances, the most significant of wliich was the Presi-
dential veto, a bicameral legislature, an unusually strong
President, elected indirectly for a four-) car term and in-
definitely re-eligible, an unusually strong Senate, elected
indirectly, one third at a time, to six*)car terms; an un-
usually strong judiciary, appointed for life by President
and Senate, a staggered schedule of terms for President
and Congress, aimed at preventing sudden reversals in
public policy, a key clause forbidding the stales to pass
any “law impairing die obligation of contracts", and a se-
verely limited process of amendment, requiring the ap-
prove of an extraordinary majority of Congress and the
states What the Constitution omitted was even more irri-
tating to progressive opinion a specific bill of rights.

The Constitution was a triumph for conservatism, but
not for reaction The Framers knew that they would have
to present their plan to Congress and tho states, and this in
itself was enough to make a high-toned scheme like that
presented by Hamilton seem almost ridiculous Most of
them were sincerely devoted to the idea of republican
government, to government that was neither rashly dem-
ocratic nor hopelessly undemocratic A reckoning should
bo made of these popular features of the Constitution
the provisions for representation, tho absence of heredi-
tary elements, as well as the inclusion of positive prohibi-
tions against granting titles of nobility, die absence of
specific property qualifications for federal suffrage and of-
fice-holding, the almost revolutionary provision for the
admission of new states on an equal footing with the old,
the prohibition against religious tests for office-holding,
and the protections for personal liberty that were sprin-
kled all through the original articles

Whether the centralizing features of tho Constitution
— for example, the supremacy clause in Article VI — were
boldly conservative or, as many anb-Federahsts claimed,
ominously radical is a question that is perhaps more semaa-

uttiicu, ammaiat. 1607-1865 to;

aaldZm , “!k lb!l! ' 11 1116 W'™' 5 <* *6 Constitution
“f r j at " ' toU “P«t tin old confederate tal-
ead in tune to annihilation of the states, its
°°Z? '«« ** only through a more peioct
? ^ )eace anc * g°°d order, the guiding stars of
I* StatesmansIu P- ^ finnly secure If men
m 6 a , revolution to preserve ancient liberties
g imperial invasion, certainly the same men could
° fr “^kbition designed to secure these liberties
against fratricidal strife

The authentic conservatism of the framers of the Con*
fyi?* 1 * read in The Federalist Both Hamilton

ao iadison, like their colleagues on the floor of the Con*

V cation, expressed a cautionary view of human nature,
an this view, which wandered back and forth between
ak pessimism and conditional optimism, set the tone
for trie whole Constitution

Hamilton speaks repeatedly of “the folly and wicked-
ness of mankind' and “the ordinary depravity of human
nature ” Perhaps hu most jevealing comment is in Num-
ber 6, in which he argues against those who assume that
thirteen independent states can live at peace with one an-

Have we not already seen enough of the fallacy
and extravagance of those idle theories which have
amused us with promises of an exemption from the
imperfections, weaknesses, and evils incident to so-
ciety in every shape? Is it not tune to awake from
the deceitful dream of a golden age, and to adopt
as a practical maxim for the direction of our political
conduct that we, as well as the other inhabitants of
the globe, are jet remote from tho happy empire of
perfect wisdom and perfect virtue?

Madison, hardly kss outspoken than H a mil ton, calls
attention to “the infirmities and depravities of the human
character" and "the injustice and violence of individuals "
lie, too, reveals the determination of the Framers to base
thur new government on men as they are and will prob-
ably remain, not os wo would like them to be or become.

ic6

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

In defending the system of divided and balanced power
he writes:

It may be a reflection on human nature that such
devices should be neces<aiy to control the abuses
of government. But what is government itself but the
greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men
were angels, no government would be necessary. If
angels were to govern men, neither external nor in-
ternal controls on government would be necessary.
In framing a government which is to be administered
by men over men, the great difficulty lies m this you
must first enable the government to control the gov-
erned, and in the next place oblige it to control it-
self

The Federalist is flatly committed to this central prop-
osition of the Conservative tradition man can govern
himself, but there is no certainty that he will, free gov-
ernment is possible but far from inevitable The new Con-
stitution, The Federalist acknowledges, is designed for
men more likely to be moved by “momentary passions
and immediate interests" than by “considerations of policy,
utility and justice * Power must be diffused and checked,
the majority must prove itself persistent and often extraor-
dinary, men’s rights and property must be protected
against the whims of arbitrary power, and the wise and
virtuous must be raised to leadership Only thus can re-
publican America enjoy that rarest of earthly blessings
popular government

The Federalist is conservatism — we may fairly say Con-
servatism — at its finest and most constructive There is
no loose talk of elites or a limited suffrage, there is no talk
at all of men who are or ever can be angels There
is voiced through all its pages the conditional hope that
men who are properly educated, encouraged, informed,
and checked can govern themselves wisely and well in a
situation of stability and order. The Federalist is neither
defeatist nor cynical, it is grimly confident of the feasi-
bility of ordered liberty

By 1789 the conservatives under Washington, hence-

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-186$ lQ j

forth to be known as Federalists, could look back on two
notab/e achievements the Revolution, which they had
JwJptd to win and managed to hold in check, and the
Constitution, which they had planned for at Annapolis
hammered out at Philadelphia, and pushed through
enough state conventions to secure ratification Now
ey were faced with a third formidable task to satisfy
e people that this new scheme was designed to serve
0 interests of all, to win respect for the government at
home and abroad, to place the Republic on a firm political
and financial footing, in short, to put the Constitution into
commission.

History records that they scored a striking success, so
striking indeed that after twelve years another group of
men, many of whom had originally been opposed to the
Constitution, could take over the machinery of govern-
ment with hardly a hitch or break or a call for a new con-
stitution The Federalists had their full share of failures,
from both their point of view and ours, but their successes
outweigh them by far in the balance of history When we
consider that they, like all men and movements, were
devoted primarily to their own interests, we must marvel
at the services they rendered to the whole Republic.
Here is one band of conservatives who won a full vote of
thanks, if not in their own tune certainly m the annals of
posterity.

A good part of the Federalist achievement may be
credited to die men who led the Right of those days from
one tnumph to another Washington, Adams, Hamilton
John Jay, Gouvemeur Moms, John Marshall, James Will
son, and the rest were men whose fame rests on a solid
foundation. Like ail great men, they were wards rather
than masters of history, yet it may be said of them, as of
few other American statesmen, that they seized history
by the nose and gave it several rousing tweaks

Two of these men deserve our special considerate
Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were the most a Jj] a
Federalist thinkers and, after Washington, the most p t0Ja
inent Federalist statesmen. Most important for our pu "
poses, the Federalism of Hamilton was at odds ’

108 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Federalism of Adams Each represented, in his creed and
deeds, a different side of the old American Right, and
many of the differences persist until this day. The contrast
between their ways of thinking is too often and easily
overlooked by men who go rummaging in the past for
evidences of American conservatism

Both advocates and students of modem American con-
servatism have their bands full in trying to make peace
with Hamilton, a fact demonstrated by the conflicting judg-
ments passed on the quality of his thought and practice.
Russell Kirk Bods him to have been too much a mix hue
of backward-looking mercantilist and forward-looking ex-
ponent of industrialism to be classed with Burke and
Adams "Eminently a city-man," Hamilton "never pene-
trated far beneath the surface of politics to the mystenes
of veneration and presumption" Raymond English, on the
other hand, considers his "ideas” a "base” for modem Amer-
ican conservatism as "solid as granite”, Louis Hacker be-
lieves him to have been a "real conservative”, and John C.
Livingston salutes him as "that national figure who stands
out above all others as the architect of a native American
conservatism ”

My own opinion is that, while Hamilton was unquestion-
ably a man of the Right, he cannot be listed, certainly not
without a half-dozen major qualifications, among the un-
doubted heioes of American conservatism I call him a man
of the Right because, in his politics and social attitudes,
as in his tastes and prejudices, he was at home m the com-
pany of "the wise and good and nch and because he
hoped desperately that such men would be called upon
always to rule republican America While his “only client
may have been, as Broadus Mitchell asserts, "the whole
country,” be served the whole country by first of all serving
the men on or near the top of the heap He had uo par-
ticular affection for the great mass of farmers and workers,
and he certainly gave his talents and energies without
stint to the vain task of keeping their leaders out of the
seats of political power If it had ever come down to a
class struggle in America, he would have shed a tear for
departed social harmony and gone to the barricades as a

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-1865 10g

soldier, or rather as a captain, of the higher bourgeoisie.
If he had been granted the boon of eternal life (which he
would hardly have considered a boon), he would loot
back from our time to a string of presidential votes for the
man of sense and substance over the man not quite to be
trusted by gentlemen of property — for Clay over Jackson,
McKinley over Bryan, Hoover over Roosevelt, Eisenhower
over Stevenson

A man on the Right, however, is not necessarily a con-
servative, and if Hamilton was a conservative, he was the
only one of his kind. He had, to be sure, many of the
political and philosophical credentials of the conservative.
He subscribed to a secular version of the doctrine of Orig-
inal Sin, put a high value on law, order, and obedience,
assumed the existence of classes and put his trust in the
class at the top, spoke with feeling of the essential roles
of religious feeling in man and organized religion In society,
and had the standard conservative sentiments about pru-
dence He despised ideologues, condemned the “rage for
innovation,” and declared himself more willing to “incur
the negative inconveniences of delay than the positivo
mischiefs of injudicious expedients " Always on his guard
against the preachers of an “ideal perfection,” certain that
he would never see “a perfect work from imperfect man,"
he was prepared to leave much to chance, and thus pre-
sumably to the workings of prescription, in the social
process He was never so eloquent as when he declaimed
on the favonte conservative theme of the mixed character
of all mans blessings

Hamilton gave full vent to his conservatism, which m
this instance went beyond mere opportunistic Rightist, ^
his reactions to the excesses of the French Revolution He
reads exactly like Burke or Adams in his attacks on “The
Great MONSrER” for its cruelty, impiety, and licentious,
ness, for its spawning of an anarchy that had ltd straigj^
to despotism, for its rage for change and assaults on p rDp .
erty, for its imposition of “the tyranny of Jacobism, wh^
confounds and levels every thing " He was enraged by
presumptuousness of the Directory in hoi g out to tia
world a general limitation and encouragement to revo^

110

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

and insun-cction, under a promise of fraternity and as-
sistance," and w as ono of the first of a long line of publicists,
which stretches down to this generation, to insist that a
clear distinction be drawn bet's ccn the French and Amer-
ican Revolutions in terms cf inspiration, aspiration, charac-
ter, and consequence. Himself a victim of the passions un-
leashed by the French Revolution, he had philosophical
as well as political reasons for the horror ho felt at the sight
of liberty run amuck.

Having said all this, I must again insist that he was not
a model for the average conservative to contemplate. Hu
bold plans for economic development, his genuine confi-
dence in the uses of political power, his indifference to
the established order in V it gun and points south, hu im-
patience with traditions and lo> allies that got in his way,
his willingness to sweep away the states, his easy identifica-
tion of plutocracy with aristocracy, the bias in his political
theory toward economics and away from ethics, and above
all hu vision of the industrial society to come — theso were
not, surely, the marks of an American oonscrvabv e of the
1790’s Ha was conservative and radical, traditionalist and
revolutionary, reactionary and visionary, Tory and Whig
all thrown into one. He is a glorious source of inspiration
and instruction to modem conservatives, but so is he to
modem liberals Let us feavo Hamilton with the observation
that his immense and deserved reputation today is due in
no small part to his ability to defy classification Indeed,
he may well be the most undassifiable man of pronounced
views in all the histoiy of American thought and politic*.

John Adams was another breed. Hu roots were in the
American land, his home was the New England town, his
Vision of the Republic was much the same as Jefferson’s,
His whole approach to life was different from that of Ham-
ilton. Virtue, loyalty, reverence, moderation, self-disci-
pline, traditionalism — these qualities were made real in
the person of John Adams He w-as, moreover, a conscious
political thinker, and bis principles have proved at least as
relevant to the American experience as those of his early
and late friend Thomas Jefferson It is no easy thing to
compress the thoughts of a man hke Adams into a few

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-1865 XU

sentences Hi’s political writings are full of subtleties, con-
tradictions, nuances, paradoxes, and unresolved dilemmas
Yet through all his thousands of pages there run about a
dozen constant themes, which fit together harmoniously
to form a political theory of genuine merit and relevance
These are the points in Adams’s philosophy that support
his claim to stand m the first rank of American conserva-
tives

An austere opinion of the nature of man, which he
found to be an unchanging blend of virtue and vice, of
dignity and depravity, of benevolence and selfishness, of
industry and sloth

Whoever would found a state, and make proper
laws for the government of it, must presume that all
men are had by nature

A strong faith in conservative education as the chief
means for aiding man to realize the better parts of his
mixed nature

Human nature with all its infirmities and depravi-
ties is still capable of great things . Education
makes a greater difference between man and man,
than nature has made between man and brute The
virtues and powers to which men may be trained, by
early education and constant discipline, are truly
sublime and astonishing

Identification of the “love of power” and the “passion
for distinction” as the two supreme urges of die human
spirit, and a consequent insistence that it is the chief
quest of political science to harness these urges to virtuous
and fruitful ends.

The theory of education, and the science of gov-
ernment, may be reduced to the same simple prin-
ciple, and be all comprehended in the knowledge of
the means of actively conducting, controlling, and
regulating the emulation and ambition of die citizens

A realistic appraisal of natural inequalities among men
By the law of nature, ah men are men, and not
angels— men, and not hoas— -men, and not whales — •

CONSZHVATXSM JN AMZJUCA

men, anil not eagles — that I*. they aro all of the same
species, and this is the most that the equality of na-
ture amounts to. But man differs by nature from
man, almost as much as man from beast. ... A
physical inequality, an intellectual inequality, of the
most serious kind, is established unchangeably by
the Author of nature, and society has a right to estab-
lish any other in equalities it may judgo necessary for
its good.

A belief in the natural aristocracy.

God Almighty has decreed in the creation of hu-
man nature an eternal aristocracy among men. The
world is, always has been, and ever will bo gov-
erned by it

Few men will deny that them is a natural aristoc-
racy of virtues and talents in every nation and in evety
party, in every city and village

A distrust of unchecked democracy and thus of rule by
a simple majority.

We may appeal to every page of history we have
hitherto turned over, for proofs irrefragable, that the
people, when they have been unchecked, have been
as unjust, tyrannical, brutal, barbarous and cruel as
any lung or senate possessed of uncontrollable power.
The majonty has eternally and without one exception
usurped over the rights of the minority.

All projects of government, formed upon a supposi-
tion of continual vigilance, sagacity, and virtue, firm-
ness of the people, when possessed of the exercise
of supreme power, are cheats and delusions.

A similar distrust of unchecked aristocracy, indeed of
all concentrated and unlimited power

I never could understand the doctrine of the perfecti-
bility of the human mind . . The fundamental
article of my political creed is, that despotism, or un-
limited sovereignty, or absolute power, is the same

AMERICA?! CONSERVATISM, 1607-186$

in a majority of a popular assembly, an aristocrat) cal
council, an oligarchical junto, and a single emperor
Equally arbitrary, cruel, bloody and in every re v
spect diabolical

My opinion is, and always has been, that absolute
power intoxicates alike despots, monarchy, aristo-
crats, and democrats,

A consequent devotion to divided, limited, balanced
government as the regulator and moderator of the eternal
struggle of classes and interests-

Ixjngitude, and the philosopher's stone, have not
been sought with more earnestness by philosophers
than a guardian of the laws has been studied by leg-
islators from Plato to Montesquieu, but eveiy proj-
ect has been found to be no better than committing
the Iamb to the custody of the wolf, except that one
which is called a balance 0 / power.

A legislative, an executive, and a judicial power
comprehend the whole of what is meant and under-
stood by government. It is by balancing each of these
powers against the other two, that the efforts in hu-
man nature towards tyranny can alone bo checked
and restrained, and any degree of freedom preserved
m the constitution.

A conservative feeling for the limits of political power.

1 remember our Massachusetts legislature once
made a law to compel bachelors to marry upon pain
of paying double taxes The people were so attached
to the liberty of propagating their species or not as
they chose, according to their consciences, that at
the next election they left out all the advocates for
the hill and chose men who respected the right of
celibacy enough to repeal the law.

Legislatorsl Beware how you make laws to shock
the prejudices or break the habits of the people In-
novations even of the most certain and obvious utility
must be introduced with great caution, prudence,
and skill.

4 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

An insistence that liberty, a delicate plant even under
the most favorable conditions, must be cultivated care-
fully by those who would enjoy its fruits:

Liberty, according to my metaphysics, is an intel-
lectual quality, an attnbuto that belongs not to fate
nor chance ... It implies thought and choice and
power. «

A strong opinion of the sanctity of privato property:

The moment tho idea is admitted into society, that
property is not as sacred as the laws of Cod. and
that there is not a force of law and public Justice to
protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.

Finally, Adams held an equally strong opinion that prop-
erty as well as virtue and knowledge— must be widely
diffused : among the people if society Is to remain free and
stable. Hamilton s idea of good government, a mutually
fruitful partnership of political and financial aristocrats,
was about tho farthest thing from Adams’s Yankee mind.
He, like Jefferson, found his ideal citizen in the sturdy,
independent jeoman, hu model polity, like Jefferson’s,
was a popular, representative government of small prop-
erty-owners * ‘

If »e add to tits tough-minded political theory Adams’s
Puritan sense of sin, his reverence for history and its
teachings, his veneration ot 'the little platoons' o[ New
Englands way of fife, his concern for the preservation
rather than espansion of liberty, his love of older, his in-
tense eonstitutionabsm and spotless patriotism, his adnura-
tion for prudence (even when ha had trouble displaying
t) , his preference for being ngbt rather than popular, and
s “P' e "'’f evo ' 1 ” «> P-bVc duty, we must grant him
° “ , air b "' fi,s ' *”“6 Amencan ern-
es one f S' ““ bc f“ d <!»> 10 salute him

as one of the giants of the Conservative tradition Here

of an AiTif 0 nn 8 a Ve "v“ t b >’ P 1 ”"*”'?. -o dreamer
.LllctZ? d »d hard-packed eit-

* h ° '“r 1 A ™ n “ “ « *» -d l» d

been, me whose life wu a doughty testament to the Inals

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-1865 HJ

and glories of ordered liberty Here, in John Adams of
Quincy, was the model of the American conservative

Three other men should he mentioned before we sum
up the Federalist record The first of these, as he is the
first of Americans, is George Washington Since this is
primarily a study m intellectual history, we have fixed at-
tention on the best political minds among the conserva-
tives of the Constitutional and Federal periods But we
should not for a moment forget the awesome figure of
Washington In him all the virtues of gentility, integrity,
and duty met to form the archetype of the conservative
statesman In his career those great abstractions — service,
loyalty, patriotism, morality — came nobly to life And from
him the nation heard, in his Farewell Address, the earnest
plea of the true conservative for that firm support of or-
dered liberty the unity that overrides petty dissension and
selfish faction

John Marshall of Virginia drew on both Hamilton and
Adams For the former, whose constitutional writings he
must have known by heart, he earned on the great work
of nationalism and centralization with Gibbons v Ogden
and McCulloch v Maryland, for the latter, who placed
him at the head of the Supreme Court, he earned on the
great work of protecting property against headstrong
democracy with Fletcher v Peck and Dartmouth College
v Woodward For both, he made the judiciary the darling
instrument of conservatism when he conjured up judicial
review in Marbury v. Madison By asserting the power of
the Court to ignore and thus invalidate laws judged un-
constitutional, Marshall put the last and most essential
stone in place m the wall of conservative consbtutional-

A third Federalist, Fisher Ames of Massachusetts, was
the most eloquent representative of a hard core of Right-
ists who showed none of the creative boldness of Hamil-
ton or tempered realism of Adams, and who thus, as de-
mocracy advanced and Jefferson came to power, predicted
total ruin for the Republic Where Adams and Marshall re-
mained gnmly hopeful that the best of the old ways would
somehow survive the surge to democracy and equality.

Il6 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Arnes saw only the enveloping tyranny of “what is called
the people.” To a fnend he wrote. "Our country is too big
for union, too sordid for patriotism, too democratic for lib-
erty What is to become of it. He who made it best
knows " And to another, not long before his early death
in 1807 “Our disease is democracy It rs not the skin that
festers — our very bones are carious, and their marrow
blackens with gangrene ” Small wonder that the die-hard
Federalists, of whom Timothy Dwight, Hamson Gray
Otis, and Robert Treat Paine, jr, were other outspoken
members, are remembered chiefly for the absurd lengths
to which they drove their hatred of democracy and long-
ing for a world without social progress

Perhaps these men, many of whom were simple and
kindly, have been too cruelly treated If so, we can make
amends by recalling that Federalism produced an astonish-
ing number of poets (or poetasters) who sang the evils of
Jacobinism and the beauties of the ancient way® ***
hear from Thomas Green Fessenden of Brattleboro and
Boston, leading candidate for the position of poet laureate
of the old American Right

Next, every man throughout the nation
Must be contented with his station.

Nor think to cut a figure greater
Than was design'd for htm by Nature
No tinker bold with brazen plate.

Should set himself to patch the State ,

No cobbler leave, at Faction’s call,

Hu last, and thereby lose his all
The greatest numbers greatest good
Should, doubtless, ever be pursu’d.

But that consists, sans Disputation,

In order and subordination

The Framers of the Constitution, who distrusted un-
checked democracy, deserve much credit for the success
of our democracy. Lacking faith in the people, they none
the less rested their new Constitution on the broad base
of popular sovereignty Placing faith ix» government by

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-1865 U7

the gentry, they none the Jess raised a structure that could
be converted without bloodshed into government by the
people The Framers insisted m 178 7, and their document
insists today, that law is the price of liberty, duty of hap-
piness, communal order of individual development, delib-
eration of wise decision, constitutionalism of democracy
Their Constitution, conceived m this tough-minded philos-
ophy, has made it possible for a restless race to have its
stabihty and its progress, too It has been perhaps the most
successful conservative device in the history of mankind,
and the Americans, a singularly conservative people for
all their restlessness, have adored it with good reason It
has been their Jang and church, their ark and covenant,
their splendid sign of freedom and unity, it has been all
these things because, first of all, it has been their tutor in
ordered liberty They have much for which to thank the
prudent Federalists, the best of all possible American con-
servatives

The Federalists passed into oblivion as a party m the elec-
tion of 1816 Since the opening phase of the Revolution,
the inherited system of government by gentlemen chosen
by a restricted electorate had been under severe assault
from the disfranchised and disinherited Now, in the first
decades of the new century, the collapse of the organized
Right heralded the triumph of democracy So rapid was
the advance of the new nation toward political equably
that many old Jeffersonians now found themselves in the
ranks of conservatism side by side with long-time enemies
from the Federalist camp The dnve of the plain people
and their able leaders to democratize the limited republic
of the fathers was aimed at concrete political goals re-
moval of property restrictions for voting and office-hold-
ing, popular election of the executive, popular election,
to short terms, of the judiciary, devices, like the conven-
tion, for popular control of parties, popular election of
state constitutional conventions and ratification of their
results, and the “spoils system " While the federal Consti-
tution went untouched and grew steadily m repute among
men of all classes , the constitutions of the new states were

ii8

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

written and those of the old states revised to meet the de-
mands of the nsmg democracy The altering of state laws
and of constitutional provisions governing the suffrage
did much, of course, to broaden the base of the Constitu-
tion So, too, did the conversion of the Presidency to a pop-
ularly elected office

In three conventions that met to revise state constitu-
tions — in Massachusetts (1820-1), New York (1821),
and Virginia (1829-30) — the conservatives made their
hardest fight to preserve the old ways John Adams, Dan-
iel Webster, Joseph Story, and Josiah Quincy in Massachu-
setts, Chancellor James Kent m New York, James Madi-
son, James Monroe, John Marshall, and John Randolph in
Virguua — all these worthies, old Federalists and old Jeffer-
sonians together, threw themselves into the hopeless
struggle against universal suffrage None of them, except
perhaps the gloomy Chancellor, was a hidebound Tory
like Ames They were, for the most part, libertarians
who took pnde in the "great subdivision of the soil" among
the American people and were devoted to the cause of a
yeoman republic But they could not abandon a funda-
mental teaching of their fathers that men without prop-
erty lack the independence, interest, judgment, and
virtue to be participating citizens of a free republic They
clung tenaciously, like the good conservatives they were,
to the inherited doctrine of the “stake-in-society," which
a f fi rms that office-holding and voting should be the con-
cern of those only who have "a common interest with, and
an attachment to the community ” Their chief concern, of
course, was the rapidly growing urban mass, which they
insisted on identifying with "the mobs of Paris and Lon-
don *

The conventions of the i82o’s were the last and most
outspoken stand of genuine, anh-democrahc conservatism
— that is to say. Conservatism — as a major force in the life
of the whole nation The blunt language of the old-fash-
loned republicans was not to be heard again in public de-
bate While Kent waded and Randolph, sputtered. Story
held fast on a Court “gone mad" and Marshall was gath-
ered stdl unyielding to his fathers, the "practical” men of

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-1865 n(?

the Right, even such as Daniel Webster, were already
moving toward a new pohUcal faith There was hub
place for a hard-bitten, plain spoken Federalist m a land
where farms, factories, railroads, and states were sprout-
ing all over the map, and where the new voters, all of
them real or potential capitalists, were proving themselves
something other than European canaille. Democracy had
become, thanks to its breath-taking yet peaceful surge to
victory, the national religion. Conservatism, except in the
South, was in demoralized rout. The swift passago of tho
Right from the old Federalism of 1820, when Story talked
about the nch helping the poor and the poor administering
to the nch, to the new Whiggery of 1840. when birth m a
log cabin was the test of political virtue, is evidence
enough of the fullness and abruptness of the swoep of de-
mocracy across the Amcncan mind.

The death of the Whigs in the 1850‘s cannot be com-
pared with that of the Federalist party before them The
latter was a high-pnnciplcd party of the Right that simply
could not come to terras with the progressive inherent
in the Amencan environment It was too proudly and in-
flexibly conservative to outlast even the first explosive as-
saults of capitalistic democracy The Whig party, however
had made a highly profitable peace with the new order*
Like all successful Amcncan parties, it was based frankly
on the reconciliation of diverse interests, and it could well
have survived conversion into “the shop and till party" h ac j
the issue of slavery not cut so deeply In any case, aft er
1840 the active Right in Amenca could be candidly con-
servative, and thus Conservative, no longer The first step
toward political success, certainly in the North and West,
was outspoken acceptance of the democratic dogma,
the men of the Right, some of whom found a home in one
party, some in the other, were henceforth to talk like
bodied Americans and reap the rewards of an opportune,
tic conservatism

The Southern Right, in the meantime, was facing most of
the problems of She Northern gentry and a few pecuh^j
its own The corroding issue of Negro slavery forced tfig

120

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

gentry, or rather its political spokesmen and academic
agents, to re-examine the whole pattern of Southern life.
The struggle to preserve an agrarian, stratified, slavehold-
mg society produced several remarkable examples of both
conservative and reactionary thought

Southern conservatism found its most able spokesman in
John C Calhoun There are those who deny that Calhoun
was a conservative, some insisting that he was committed
more deeply than he realized to the Jeffersonian dispensa-
tion, others that he was “the Mane of the master class,"
still others that he was little better than a fabulous reac-
tionary Actually, these people are saying only that he was
an heir of the constitutional tradition, or that he was more
realistic than most Americans about the facts of class war-
fare, or that he sought to prevent the agrarian South from
going the way of the industrial North None of these
charges removes him unequivocally from the conservative
ranks Calhoun was first of all a man who cherished a way
of life and strove ably and sincerely to save it from nun.
These features of his political mind lead me to insist that
he was a conservative, even a Conservative

A deeply pessimistic view of the prospects of popular
government

We already see, in whatever direction we turn our
eyes, the growing symptoms of disorder and decay —
the growth of faction, cupidity, and corruption, and
the decay of patriotism, integrity, and disinterested-
ness

A flat assertion of the primacy of the community

[Man’s] natural state is, the social and political —
the one for which his Creator made him, and the only
one m which he can preserve and perfect his race
Instead of being bom free and equal, [men]
are bom subject, not only to parental authority, but
to laws and institutions of the country where bom,
and under whose protection, they draw their first
breath

121

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-1865

A completely non-Jeffersonian theory of liberty

It is a great and dangerous error to suppose that
all people are equally entitled to liberty It is a re-
ward to be earned, not a blessing to be gratuitously
lavished on all alike, — a reward reserved for the in-
telligent, the patriotic, the virtuous and deserving, —
and not a boon to be bestowed on a people too igno-
rant, degraded and vicious, to be capable either of
appreciating or of enjoying it

A belief in the blessings of inequality among men and
consequent hostility to all schemes for social leveling

Now, as individuals differ greatly from each other,
m intelligence, sagacity, energy, perseverance, skill,
habits of industry and economy, physical power, po-
sition and opportunity, — the necessary effect of
leaving all free to exert themselves to better their
condition, must be a corresponding inequality be-
tween those who may possess these qualities and ad-
vantages in a high degree, and those who may be de-
ficient in them It is, indeed, this inequality of
condition between the front and the rear ranks, in the
inarch of progress which gives so strong an impulse
to the former to maintain their position, and to the
latter to press forward into then files This gives to
progress its greatest impulse To force the front rank
back to the rear, or attempt to push forward the rear
into line with the front, by the interposition of the
government, would put an end to the impulse, and
effectually arrest the march of progress

A belief, based on his own understanding of the South-
ern way of life, m the organic, cellular structure of the
good society

The Southern States are an aggregate, in fact, of
communities, not of individuals Every plantation is
a little community, with the master at its head, who
concentrates in himself the united interests of capital
and labor, of which he is the common representative

122 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

. Hence the harmony, the union, the stability of
that section

A distrust of unchecked political power, which corrupts
the man who uses it and degrades the man upon whom it
is used

If there be a political proposition universally true,
one which springs directly from the nature of man,
and is independent of circumstances, — it is, that irre-
sponsible power is inconsistent with liberty, and must
corrupt those who exercise it On this great principle
our political system rests

A fear, therefore, of simple majority rule.

The truth is, — the Government of the uncontrolled
numencal majority, is but the absolute and despotic
form of popular governments, just as that of the un-
controlled will of one man, or a few, is of monarchy,
or aristocracy, and it has, to say the least, it has as
strong a tendency to oppression, and the abuse of its
powers, as either of the others

As consequence of all that has gone before, an intense
faith in constitutional limitations, expressed chiefly in the
famous concept of the “concurrent majority”

There are two different modes in which the sense
of the community may be taken one, simply, by the
nght of suffrage, unaided, the other, by the right
through a proper organism Each collects the sense
of the majority But one regards numbers only, and
considers the whole community as a unit, having but
one common interest throughout . The other re-
gards interests as well as numbers, — considering the
community as made up of different and conflicting
interests The former of these I shall call the
numencal, or absolute majority, and the latter, the
concurrent, or constitutional rna jonty . . .

The necessary consequence of taking the sense of
the community by the concurrent majonty is .
to give to each interest or portion of the community

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-1865 12J

a negative on the others It u this mutual negative
among its various conflicting interests, which invests
each with the power of protecting itself, — and places
the rights and safety of each, where only they c an be
securely placed, under its own guardianship It
is this negative, — -the power of preventing or arresting
the action of the government, — be it called by what
term it may, — veto, interposition, nullification, check,
or balance of power, — which, in fact, forms the con-
stitution

This is strong and difficult stuff As to its difficulty, it
should be as plain to those who are meeting Calhoun for
the first time as to those who know him well that the doc-
trine of the concurrent majority alone raises two questions
for every one it answers Fortunately, it would serve us no
purpose to raise and ponder these questions, concerning
which there is an able and growing literature Let us fir
on this one point the concurrent majonty, considered as
a general standard for testing majonty rule rather than as
a specific technique for checking it absolutely, is still, by
whatever name we give it, a prime weapon in the conserv-
ative arsenal The conservative’s concept of unity is of
unity that arises out of meaningful diversity, and Calhoun
faced squarely, as few Americans have, the problem of pro-
tecting the many small interests against the relentless pres-
sure of the general interest That his own interest was es-
pecially repugnant to the democratic tradition should not
blind us to the broader significance of his intellectual
achievement The doctrine of the concurrent majonty, the
belief that each nunonty must have the power to defend
itself against public policy determined by mere weight of
numbers, lives on in a dozen essentially conservative tech-
niques and arrangements in our political and social sys-
tems

As to the strength — that is to say, the unpala lability —
of Calhoun’s basic teachings, it need only be pointed out
that for most men he was as hard to swallow in his tame as
in ours Even in the South his principles were ignored or
rejected by a people already too deeply committed to the
Jeffersonian tradition While many men On die Southern

134 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Right, and on the Northern, too, have acted in the image
of Calhoun's harsh conservatism, few have permitted them-
selves to think this way, to assume flatly, for example, that
"there has never yet existed a wealthy and civilized soci-
ety in which one portion of the community did not, in
point of fact, live on the labor of the other" In Calhoun's
stem, moral, duty-conscious person, as m his astonishing
blend of organic and constitutional doctrines, the tenets
of Conservatism were pushed about as far as they could go
without spilling over into malign authoritarianism

George Fitzhugh of Virginia, a powerful and prolific
writer in the Southern cause, had much less trouble shak-
ing off the chains of the constitutional tradition As a result,
hi* political and social theory — expressed m those two
amazing books, Sociology for the South (1854) and Can-
nibals AU] (1857), as well as in a mass of articles in South-
ern journals — was a high point of reaction m American in-
tellectual history These writings proclaim without hesita-
tion the irrationality of human nature, the inequality of
men, the primacy of the community, the blessings of
a closed society and paternalistic government, the sanctity
of tradition, and the joys of stability There is little or no
compromise with individualism, liberalism, rationalism, or
constitutionalism In rediscovering Aristotle and even Fil-
mer, m writing as if Locke and Jefferson had never lived,
m regretting America's unsuitability for a monarchy and
established church, in calling upon the South “to roll back
the Reformation in its political phases," he made himself
the champion of a closed, hierarchical, almost feudal soci-
ety that could have made little real sense to the great mass
of Southerners Yet even today his arguments are not with-
out interest or significance, for he was neither a stereo-
typed Southern fire-eater nor an anb-intellectual standpat-
ter He refused to be trapped in the mire of states’-rights
constitutionalism, he proposed that the South find true
independence by moving toward a more balanced and di-
versified economy Although Fitzhugh may have preached
a feudalism that satisfied the most devoted readers of Sir
Walter Scott, he was also a master of the real world of pol-
itics and sociology.

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607-1865 12J

Tbs completes our survey of the American Right before
the Civil War In pursuing a policy of concentrating on
political movements and on only two or three men in each
of these, we have slighted some rather remarkable and
edifying men, each of whom would get a chapter, or at
least a couple of pages, in a definitive, multi-volumed his-
tory of American conservatism

Timothy Dwight of Connecticut, who should have been
bomjn 1652 rather than 1752,

John Quincy Adams, in whose stout heart and mind the
progressivism of Jefferson and conservatism of father John
waged a prolonged tug-of-war,

John Randolph of Roanoke, who proudly proclaimed. "I
am an aristocrat I love liberty, I hate equality,” and who
pointed out with mad eloquence the road of no return
down which Jefferson’s progressivism was leading old Vir-
ginia,

Nathaniel Hawthorne, who reminded Americans of the
reality of sin and the strength of their Puritan heritage,

Orest* s Brownson and Isaac Hecker, who wandered
from one faith to another and finally found in Catholicism
the moral and religious underpinning for triumphant de-
mocracy,

Joseph Story, who grounded his conservative constitu-
tionalism on reverence for the historical process,

Daniel Webster, who grounded his own conservatism,
into winch Liberalism had made inroads, on a mystic con-
cept of the federal Union,

Alexis de Tocqueville, a visitor, yet an American by the
power of his prophecies, who sought to teach the first de-
mocracy how to reconcile old and stabilizing values with a
new and liberating faith,

James Femmore Cooper, who argued eloquently that
the survival of the gentleman — the man “elevated above
the mass of society by his birth, manners, attainments,
character, and social condition ’-—was the key to success-
ful democracy,

tlie German-Amencan Francis Lieber, whose Ctvil Lib-
erty and Self-Cocemment (1853) was an academic hymn
f<7 ordered hbert}’.

126

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Tayler Lewis, the great classicist of Union College, who
insisted that a “true” Amen can conservatism would have
to nse above an obsession with security for pnvate prop-
erty,

James Marsh of the University of Vermont, who drew
heavily on Colendge to bolster his conservative transcen-
dentalism,

Rufus Choate of Massachusetts, the archetype of the
conservative Whig,

and, finally, a dozen or more Southern writers — Na-
thaniel Beverley Tucker, Hemy Hughes, Thomas Rodenck
Dew, Albert Bledsoe, George Sawyer, Edmund Ruffin,
Governor J H Hammond, William A Smith, George Fred-
enck Holmes, William J Grayson, William Harper, Wil-
liam Gilmore Simms — who rose to the defense of their
agrarian, slaveholding society and unleashed a barrage of
novels, poems, sermons, and tracts damning the individ-
ualistic North and praising the communal South

All these are men who deserve to be better known and
understood by modem Americans If they were too re-
moved from one another in time and space and immediate
purpose to form, even in retrospect, an identifiable
school of American thought, sbll they are more than
just a string of names to be recited by modem philosoph-
ical conservatives seeking identity with the past They are
the men who, whatever their aspirations and principles,
stood up with at least some bravery to the sweep of the
Jeffersonian dispensation across the landscape of intellec-
tual America They are a reminder that the establishment
° , 6 *y rann y °f Liberalism” did not go completely un-
challenged in the generations before the Civil War

Yet this concentration on the prudent Federalists, and
to a lesser extent on the line that ran, not entirely capri-
ciously, from Winthrop to Calhoun, should have served
the purposes for which we undertook thu survey of the
ear y Right to give an honest if summary impression of
the principles, triumphs, and contributions of our first con-
servatives, and to make it possible to call upon these men
for instruction and example in later stages of this book.

A final point, perhaps the most important in the chap-

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1607*1865 1 27

ter these early conservatives, even those who were con-
scious Conservatives, were authentic, indigenous Ameri-
cans, and their conservatism was therefore shaped to the
American environment For all his talk about aristocracy
and inequality, John Adams was John Adams and not Ed-
mund Burke The town meetings, schools, farms, and
churches of New England — not the monarchy, peerage,
estates, and Church of old England — were the institutional
base on which he built his Conservative theory Indeed,
wherever we look among the men of the early Right, we
see that they were Americans grappling with American
problems in the American arena I think it essential to re-
member this fact whenever and however we deal with
American conservatism Almost from the beginning it has
accepted — often under duress, to be sure— principles
that would have appalled the European Right The phil-
osophical similarities between men ike Burke and Adams
or de Maistre and Fitzhugh cannot be ignored, but we
would deceive ourselves badly — and unlearn the first les-
son of conservatism — if we were to insist on an identity of
faith and purpose Though we will return to this point
again, let us state it now lest there be any doubt about its
validity and importance American conservatism must be
judged by American standards, the standards of a country
that has been big, diverse, rich, new, successful, and non-
feudal, a country in which Liberalism has been the com-
mon faith and middle-class democracy the common prac-

Y

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM,
1865-1945

O R

The Great Train Robbery
of American Intellectual History

The Civil War was the great divide of American con-
servatism The victory of the Northern armies assured the
victory of Northern sentiment on two issues, slavery and
the nature of the Union, that had fed the fires of political
thought from the beginning of the Republic Henceforth
most thinking Americans would fix then attention on an-
other great issue The war as conceived and fought by the
Union also sealed the triumph of the Constitution as s>m-
bol of national unity and of democracy as secular religion
Henceforth they would debate this issue in one political
language.

The major point of debate, on which all other contro-
versies turned, was the nght and capacity of government
to regulate business enterprise in the general interest of
the community and in the specific interest of its less fortu-
nate members. While the Left fought for social reform in
state and na tio n with words like “democracy/* “liberty,**
equality, “progress,” “opportunity” and "individual-

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-I94S 12 <f

ism ,“ the Right struck back from its privileged position
with the very same words The struggle of Right and Left
was hard, often fierce, and occasionally bloody, yet it was
a scramble for the scats of power rather than a war-to-the-
death between two hopelessly antagonistic worlds Few
men on either great team were committed to drastic
changes in the rules of the game, few moved outside the
Liberal tradition m their search for a persuasive rhetoric.

The root cause of this struggle over the future of Amer-
ica was the rise of industrial capitalism Change — rapid,
massive, and unsettling — was now the dominant character-
istic of the American scene Leaders of the Right sened
as the chief agents of change, confident that their mines
and mills could bring them power and riches without dis-
rupting the established order Leaders of the Left served
as the chief advocates of reform, convinced that positive
action by federal and state governments was needed to
shore up democracy against the rising fade of material
inequality and treacherous currents of panic and depres-
sion

The desire of business to expand without interference
Was challenged repeatedly Grangers, Populists, Bryan and
Wilson Democrats, Roosevelt and La Follette Progres-
sives, Liberal Republicans, Grcenbackers, Single Taxers,
Knights of Labor, and Socialists were the most notable
major and minor groups to attack “the Lords of Creation."
Although this fact of challenge to the rule of the “wise
and good and neb" places them irrevocably on the Left
in Amencan political histoiy, we would do well not to con-
fuse most of them with the forces of dissent in Europe
Many men in these groups were as fundamentally conserv-
ative as their more privileged opponents They had no
blueprints for the wholesale remaking of American society,
they were committed to no mote re/orm-by-collectivism
than seemed necessary to smash the most arrogant mo-
nopolies, smooth out the worst inequalities, restore genuine
competition, and cushion the farmer and worker against
the shocks of industrialization and urbanization The
model for their America was the America that had been

The Right of these free-wheeling decades was perhaps

130

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

more of a genuine Right, for it was led by the rich and
well placed, was skeptical of popular government, was op
posed to all parties, unions, leagues, or other movements
that sought to invade its positions of power and profit,
and was politically, socially, culturally, and, in the most
obvious sense, economically anti-radical The men who
hated Bryan, however, lived in a different age from the
men who had hated Jefferson Since they were committed
to change m a vital area of American life, they were forced
to argue that change was progress, and progress a blessing
Since the one real threat to their position was the demand
of the new progressivum for government intervention,
they were forced to argue for individual liberty and
against communal activity And since, most important,
they were leading atmens of a country m which political
democracy was now an established fact and holy faith,
they were forced to talk, and even to think, m the vocabu-
lary of Liberalism

Progress, individualism, democracy — the Right could
never have embraced these alien beliefs with convincing
enthusiasm except for one decisive fact the intellectual
climate of the age was thoroughly materialistic. More and
more Americans were coming to measure all things with
the yardstick of economic fulfillment Thu made it pos-
sible for the Right to argue that Liberal democracy and
laissez-faire capitalism were really one and the same thing,
which in turn made it possible for the busmess community
to defend itself agamst the heirs of Jefferson with Jeffer-
son’s own wordj, to celebrate the struggle against social
reform as a last-ditch stand for human liberty. The Right
brought off this feat, this Creat Train Robbery of our
intellectual history, quite sincerely and unconsciously, no
we can accuse the agents and philosophers of economic
individua l i sm of perpetrating a deliberate fraud. One can
wly wonder at the adroitness with which these most op
port u nlstic of all conservatives seized upon Liberalism for
their own purposes and managed to convince a good part
of the nation that their narrow interpretation of its mean-
ing was imawailably correct.

In pro claim i n g a political faith framed largely in Jeffer-

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 jgj

soman phraseology, the American Right ceased to be con-
sciously conservative The old Conservative tradition sank
even deeper into lonely disrepute, while a new kind of
anb-radicahsm moved in to takt> its place and provide the
Right with comfort and inspiration Laissez-faire conserv-
atism, the label we shall apply to this new philosophy,
rose to prominence between 1865 and 1885, to ascendancy
between 1885 and 1920, to domination — to virtual iden-
tification with "the American Way” — in the ig2o's I rec-
ognize that this label is something of a contradiction in
terms, but that is exactly why I have chosen to use it a
paradoxical political theory deserves a paiadoxical title

It is not easy to state the principles of laissez-faire con-
servatism The prophets of the rising faith seemed often to
preach m a babble of tongues Pew of them claimed to be
political or social theorists, practically none could take the
long or deep view of man and his place in the community
Even William Graham Sumner of Yale,- the most brilliant
and consistent of this group and a scholar of the first mag-
nitude, was quite unspeculabve in his pohbcal thinking
The laissez-faire conservabves attacked each problem as it
arose and laid about them for whatever weapons seemed
most handy at the moment In the chorus that poured
from their full throats we seem to hear the voices of
Adams, Ames, Hamilton, and Calhoun, of Emerson, Jeffer-
son, Thoreau, and Whitman, of Darwin, Spencer, Adam
Smith, and Malthus, of St Paul, Calvin, and Nietzsche,
even, if one cocks an alert ear, of Kail Marx Elibsm vies
with democracy, pessimism with optimism, preservabon
with progress, authoritarianism with individualism, char-
ity with insensibvity, liberalism with conservabsm There
was a monstrous gap between ideals and realibes, and
many of the ideals were at total war with one another.

Despite this apparent confusion, the American Right
seems to have been guided between the Civil War and
the Great Depression by a set of common principles Out
of the writings, speeches, and judicial opinions of hun-
dreds of stalwart Righbsts we may chsbll a working pohb-
cal faith, one that is less ehbst and more democratic than
their marbculate assumpbons, less democrabe and more

l$2 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

elitist than their platform oratoiy In presenting this faith,
I draw heavily on their own words One must taste for
oneself the full, heady, imperious flavor of laissez-faire con-
servatism, especially the brand purveyed in the vintage
years at the turn of the century

The spokesmen of laissez-faire conservatism wasted few
thoughts on man They ignored almost completely his na-
ture and needs as social, religious, or political animal The
only man who seems to have counted in their thinking was
homo economicus

Their opinion of this man was a confusing blend of
harshness and hopefulness The key trait of his immutable
nature was a deep current of selfishness that rose to the
surface most frequently in the form of intense acquisi-
tiveness Man’s most important earthly need — and right
and duty — was to satisfy his acquisitive instincts The
free, happy, useful man “got things done” and received a
suitable reward for the doing The free, happy, progres-
sive society permitted this man to work to the limit of his
energies, nse to the level of his talents, and profit to the
extent of his desires The free, happy, effective govern-
ment recognized the true nature of man and society and
inteifered as little as possible with the quest for success

This selfish individual, who would neither sow nor reap
unless prodded by material discomfort and beckoned by
material gam, was in the world by and for himself No one
owed him a living, he owed no one support If he was
rich, powerful, and happy, he could thank his own tal-
ents, if he was poor, frustrated, and miserable, he could
blame his own faults He must, jn any case, take the conse-
quences of his behavior. The drunkard belonged in the
ditch, the lazy man in the poorhouse, the dullard in the
shack, the hard-working man in the cottage, the hard-
working and talented man in the mansion Self-reliance
was the command of God and nature Not every man could
become a millionaire through Sumner’s formula of “labor,
toil, self-denial, and study,” but he could, if he would,
achieve a decent competence and solid reputation

Sensing the dangers that lurked in their doctrine of the

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 1 33

acquisitive man, the laissez-faire conservabves, preachers
all, drew on the Puritan ethic for other moral excellencies,
justice, temperance, courage, piety, patience, benevo-
lence, and honesty Despite contrary evidence strewn all
about them, they argued vigorously that these, too, were
essenbal ingredients of success and freedom "In the long
run,” Bishop Lawrence warned, “it is only to the man of
morality that wealth comes ” Yet even the Bishop seemed
to put industry and frugality in first place m his catalogue
of private virtues

Laissez-faire conservabves seized joyfully on the bright
principle of equality, but their mterpretabon of it was so
twisted that they may certainly be classed as anb-equah-
tanans Here, at least, their assumphons and even their
public statements remained basically conservabve The
only real equality, so it appears in their writings, was
equality of economic liberty, acclaimed by Jusbce Stephen
J Field in his memorable dissent in the Slaughterhouse
Cases ( 1872) as ' the equality of right among citizens in
the pursuit of the ordinaiy avocabons of life ” Men were
equal in the right to acquire and hold property, m the
right to be free of government interference in their busi-
ness, and, most important, in the lack of any nght to the
assistance of government in pursuing their acquisitive
ends "All grants of exclusive privileges’’ — whether to tne
highest-placed industrialist or the lowest-placed laborer—
were "against common right, and void ” In addition, most
preachers of the new gospel acknowledged in passing that
men were equal before the law and at the polls But the
significant equality was equality of opportunity — 'equality
m self-reliance *

None of these men ever asserted the fact of a rough
equality m talents and virtues or the desirability of equal-
ity in status and property. Quite the contrary, many of
them echoed Adams in insisting on the harsh reality of nat-
ural inequalities among men, and Calhoun in asserting
that the competition resulting from these inequalities was
the great spur to progress Many went further and adopted
a deterministic view of the social order “God has intended
the great to be great and the httle to be little,” cned

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Henry Ward Beecher Attempts to bring the little up to
the great or the great down to the little would reduce lib-
erty, halt progress, and eventually destroy society

Liberty, not equality, was the chief concern of the lais-
sez-faire conservative In The Conflict between Liberty
and Equality (1925), President Hadley of Yale argued
that equality was the ideal of backward races and liberty
the ideal of progressive peoples — a point already put for-
ward strongly by President Butler of Columbia in Tru? and
False Democracy (1907). Indeed, said this eloquent apol-
ogist for the new conservatism, “Justice demands in-
equality as a condition of liberty and as a means of reward-
ing each according to his merits and desserts ” The upshot
ol all this play with old words and new meanings was a
social theory that made clever use of both Jefferson
and Adams A society in which equality of opportunity
was “the distinguishing privilege of all citizens was
a society in which the inequalities of nature would be al-
lowed to run their full course

The twin doctrines of equably of opportunity and in-
equality of ability led the laissez-faire conservative inex-
orably to a belief in natural aristocracy, which, however,
he rarely peddled under so honest a label. Underlying this
belief was a characteristically American concept of class
classes were a fact of life, and hard-headed men would
shape their thinking to the existence of a social order Yet
the order was made up of classes, not castes, the way up
and the way down were open to all

The men at the top of this order formed the most nat-
ural and socially valuable of all aristocracies the aristoc-
racy of personal achievement The best of such men, the
"captains of industry," were those who had risen from the
bottom, from "that sternest but most efficient of all schools
— poverty" Civilization, Elbert Hubbard pointed out in
his Message to Garcia, was “one long anxious search for
just such individuals” as that natural aristocrat, “the fellow
by the name of Rowan,” and civilized men should be
grateful for their existence Sumner agreed

The millionaires are a product of natural selection,
acting on the whole body of men to pick out those

13 ?

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945

who can meet the requirements of certain work to be
done They get high wages and live in lux-
ury, but the bargain is a good one for society

The capstone of this theory of aristocracy was the so-
called "Gospel of Wealth ” The natural aristocrat, elevated
above his fellow men by his superior energy and ability,
had not only the right but the duty to lead them wisely
and well He was bound, in addition, to live an exemplary
private life as a model for the young men who would suc-
ceed him and old men who would not Finally, if he was
one of the chosen few who had been favored with exces-
sive wealth, he was to use this wealth wisely, he was
obliged to act as "the steward of great riches” No one
preached the Gospel of Wealth more fervtntly than An-
drew Carnegie, who considered "the man of wealth . .
the mere agent and trustee for his poorer brethren, bring-
ing to their service his supenor wisdom, experience, and
ability to administer, doing for them better than they
would or could do for themselves ” Or as John D Rocke-
feller said to a gathering that had been made happier and
wiser by his bounty, “The good Lord gave me the
money, and how could I withhold it from the University
of Chicago?"

In the writings of Carnegie, Hubbard, Darnel S Greg-
ory, Russell Conwell, and others, we discover an aristo-
cratic ideal as full-bodied and functional as any that has
served the ruling classes of England and Europe. It may
be argued that many industrialists and financiers, bearing
names Idee Gould and Drew, lacked all sense of duty to
the public and their employees, yet the reality of aristoc-
racy has never, in any country, come close to the ideal It
may be pointed out that this new American doctrine, un-
like most theories of aristocracy, failed to call specifically
for public service, yet service to the public m a laisstz-
faire civilization meant exploiting natural resources, build-
ing railroads and factories, and making jobs for willing
men Leaders like Carnegie and Rockefeller could not be
expected to waste their time and talents on the relatively
unimportant business of governing men “What would be-

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

136

come of tins nation ” Conwell asked, “if our great men
should take office?" And he himself gave the only possible
answer “The great men cannot afford to take political
office, and you and I cannot afford to put them there
Since America had no established aristocracy to challenge
the pretensions of the industrial elite, the “captains of in-
dustry" could hardly be blamed for thinking themselves
an authentic aristocracy. The laissez-faire conservative
theories of class and elite were a natural product of post-
Civil War America.

The rights of man were another area of political specu-
lation in which laissez-faire conservatives thought only
those thoughts that served their immediate purposes One
may search their writings in vain for evidence of genuine
concern for the freedoms of religion and expression or for
the great judicial safeguards Like all Americans, they
loved “liberty, charming liberty,” but it was liberty de-
fined largely in economic terms

A few tough-minded men like Sumner scoffed at the no-
tion of natural rights, insisting that liberty was something
that had been earned in struggle and recognized in law
Most leaders of this school, however, declaimed in ornate
language about "the holy rights of free men ” Two nghts
in particular claimed then devotion The first, the nght of
property, was elevated to a position of unchallenged pri-
macy It was the essence of liberty, the definition of nght,
in Sumner’s words, “the condition of civilization ” While
the nght to property was being raised over all other
nghts, the concept of property w'as expanded far beyond
the ownership of personal possessions The United States
Steel Corporation was “pnvate property," and government
had no more authonty to interfere m its operation than to
take away half the acreage of every farmer in the country
As to the income tax, that was mere “theft."

The second nght to which laissez-faire conservatives de-
voted special attention was freedom of contract, the nght
of a man freely — without support or interference from gov-
ernment — to buy and sell property or labor Said Justice
Mahloa Pitney in Coppage v Kansas (1913)

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 I37

Included la the right of personal liberty and the
right of private property-— partaking of the nature of
each — u the ngbt to make contracts for acquisition
of property Chief among such contracts is that of
personal employment, by which labor and other serv-
ices are exchanged for money or other forms of prop-
erty The right is as essential to labor as to the
capitalist, to the poor as to the nch, for the vast xna-
]onty of persons have no other honest way to begin
to acquire property, save by working for money

The interference with freedom of contract at issue in
this case was a state law prohibiting the infamous prac-
tice of "yellow-dog contracts” In Adkins v Children’s
Hospital (1923) it was a minimum-wage law for women
in die District of Columbia, in Lochner v New York
(1905) a law limiting work in bakeries to ten hours a day
or sixty hours a week In all three cases the Court dis-
covered an ‘'arbitrary” and unconstitutional interference
with freedom of contract, thus converting this freedom
into a wonderful weapon for beating back attempts of gov-
ernment to come to the relief of working men and women
Sure that the welfare of society depended upon free com-
petition among “equal” individuals, the Court defended
the precious rights of laborers to get work by promising
not to join unions, of scrubwomen and elevator operators
to make the best bargain they could with employers, and
of underpaid bakers to work just as long as they wanted.

The lausez-faire justices must not be written off as bla-
tant hypocrites They were bitterly anti-labor, no doubt of
that, yet they were so hypnotized by the dogma of indi-
vidualism and the fiction of equality of bargaining power
that combinations of workers and protective laws appeared
to them as duett threats to liberty and progress.

In their thinking about the nature and purpose of govern-
ment, laissez-faire conservatives abandoned the principles
of Federalism and adopted those of JeSexsonlan democ-
racy The progressive agrarians of 1S00 had had reason to
fear government. In theu experience it had been an op-

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

138

pressive tool of the rich, a means for perpetuating privi-
lege and legalizing inequality As a result, their leading
thinkers expressed suspicion of political power in the
most general language The conservative industrialists of
1880 had reason to fear it, too They had learned, also
by experience, that government based on a broad suffrage
could be a tool of the masses as well as of the classes
Faced by the new progressivism of the new agrarians,
they seized upon the noble phrases in which the general-
ized suspicion of government had first been expressed and
went forth to battle against regulation of rates and sched-
ules, income taxes, anti-trust legislation, and all other at-
tempts to “legislate equably ”

Laissez-faire conservatives looked on government as
something inherently inefficient, because anything it
could do the private enterprise of acquisitive men could
do “twice as cheap and ten times as fast”, inadequate, be-
cause there were severe natural limitations to collective as
opposed to individual action , unintelligent, because it in-
evitably attracted men unwilling or unable to make good
in the real business of life, arbitrary, because politi-
cal power had a peculiarly corrupting effect, and undem-
ocratic, because it seemed alwa>s bent on interfering with
liberty, property, and equality of opportunity The idea
that government could do anyone much good was consid-
ered ridiculous and heretical. The idea that it could do a
great deal of harm was considered the beginning of politi-
cal wisdom

If government was inefficient and inadequate by nature,
it must, of course, be severely limited in purpose. “Peace,
order, and the guarantees of rights” were its true con-
cerns, Sumner wrote, and at another time

At bottom there are two chief things with which
government has to deaL They are, the property of
men and the honor of women These it has to defend
against crime

The purpose of government was always stated in purely
individualistic terms “Government,” said Mark Hopkins,
“has no nght to be, except as it is necessary to secure the

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 139

ends of the individual in his social capacity * Government
sfi cured the ends of the individual by protecting his prop-
erty and standing out of the way of his urge to get more It
was not expected to assist him m any positive way Sum-
ner turned his scorn on any and all proposals "whose aim
*? s ^ ve individuals from any of the difficulties or hard-
ships of the struggle for existence and the competition of

It is not at all the function of the State to make men
happy They must make themselves happy in their
own way, and at their own nsk

Few laisse7-faire conservatives were as consistent as
Sumner, who blasted away at protective tariffs and mun-
mum-wage laws with magnificent impartiality Some ar-
gued, often smcerely, that tariffs, land grants, subsidies,
bounties, favorable patent laws, hard-currency laws, and
Other aids to business enterprise were aids to the whole
community or simply “the rules of the game,’ 4 not special
privileges or hnkenngs with the natural laws of a free
economy Others were sufficiently shocked by the growth
of monopoly, inequality, and gross dishonesty to recom-
mend that government take action to restore competition
or to protect workers and consumers Most spokesmen for
the business community, however, continued to hammer
away at government as the one genuine threat to human
liberty In their mistrust of authority, contempt for "poli-
ticians," glorification of the individual, and adherence to
the concept of "the policeman state," they came very near
to a theory of philosophical anarchy. What Francis Pas-
chal has said of Sutherland's opinion m the Adkins case —
that it was “basically . . an attack on the very idea of

government" — might be said, without too much hyper-
bole, of the whole attitude of the laissez-faire conserva-
tives This attitude came naturally to men who assumed, if
we may behev e their writings, that the essence of human
endeavor was "getting and spending." Government was
not merely dangerous, m the good society it was irrele-
vant

Laissez-faire conservatives developed a constitutional

140

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

theory admirably suited to their political purposes Its sub-
stance ^ was an extreme constitutionalism that blended
Adams’s faith in diffusion and balance, Jefferson’s insistence
on strict construction, Madison’s devotion to the separation
o powers, and Marshall’s ideal of a stubborn judiciary
standing guard over property Majority rule was the ob-
ject of most concern to laissez-faire constitutionalism, for a
popu majority in the seats of power threatened the pasi-
on $. p s, and properties of the business community A
constitutional theory that set unbreachable limits to the
power of democratic decision was therefore a clear neces-

J ^ ,m P or * an t part of this theory was an intense cult of
e , tubon Seizing upon a long-range development
. m e r ican tradibon, the laissez-faire conservabves

nsformed the Conshtubon into a second Holy Writ The
™ S ‘converted posthumously to rugged indmd-
uslsm, and Ihe.r handiwork was planed side by side wall
S" V". Comma ndmenls President Cleveland spoke [or
whole natron, but especially [or those who were com-

cIr.eS T^ddpX?' “• *' «“

n.,f r We , 1 °° k dovVn P ast centur y to the origm of
Z* how devoutI y we would con-

Ind r Ft f Um “ God g° vems ” the affairs of men”
and how solemn should be the reflecbon that to our
hands : a : commuted this ark of the people’s covenant,

h Z'L° mS “ * e dul y t0 shleId ‘t from impious
bands W® receive it sealed with the tests of a cen-
hny It has been found sufficient in the past, and in
all future years it w,U be suffic.ent if the American
people are true to their sacred bust

baf w^i R Estabroo V 411 ornament of the New York
oar, went one-up on Cleveland

vJPVf, great a , nd sa cred Consbtubon, serene and m-
violable sbetches its beneficent powers over our land
—over !U lakes and nvers and forests, over every
ers son of us, like the outsbetched arm of God

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 I4I

himself O Marvellous Constitution! Magic

Parchment! Transforming word! Maher, Monitor,
Guardian of Mankind! Thou hast gathered to thy im-
partial bosom the peoples of the earth, Columbia, and
called them equaL I would fight for every line
in the Constitution as I would fight for every star m
the flag

And E J Phelps, an early president of the American Bar
Association, made clear that the Constitution, like a
woman’s honor, was not to be "hawked about the country,
debated in the newspapers, discussed from the stump,
elucidated by pot-house politicians and dung-hill editors ”
In short, the Constitution was a closed book by which
Americans must live henceforth and forever This Consti-
tution, needless to say, was looked upon as a catalogue of
limitations rather than a grant of powers

Not satisfied with appropriating the Constitution to their
purposes, laissez-faire conservatives abandoned the skepti-
cism or hostility of the ante-bellum Right toward the Dec-
laration of Independence and welcomed it back into the
fold of respectability Justice Field shouted the loudest
welcome in Butchers’ Unwn Co v Crescent City Co.
(1883), saluting the Declaration as "that new evangel
of liberty to the people” and identifying the pursuit of hap-
piness with pure economic individualism

In its practical applications, the constitutional theory of
laissez-faire conservatism looked first of all to a strong,
dignified, independent judiciary pledged to defend prop-
erty and economic liberty with the weapon of judicial re-
view John W Burgess of Columbia spoke for every man
of the faith when he singled out the judiciary — that
“learned, experienced, impartial, unprejudiced, upright
organ for main taming , . the constitutional balance be-
tween Government and Liberty” — as the noblest instru-
ment of free government The Supreme Court was the
living embodiment of the principles and hopes of laissez-
faire constitutionalism

The legislature, on the other hand, was to operate un-
der severe constitutional restrictions Laissez-faire conserv-

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

144

much of the passion with which its spokesmen assaulted
advocates of reform Men who tampered with the estab-
lished order were not only fools for ignoring the advice of
leaders of enterprise, but idiots for challenging eternal ver-
mes "God and Nature have ordained the chances and con-
ditions of life on earth once and for all," Sumner wrote
“The case cannot be opened We cannot get a revision of
the laws of human life *

Sumner and his colleagues grounded their higher law on
the assumption of immutable selfishness in human nature
The nub of the law was simply “Darwin plus Spencer"
natural selection, the survival of the fittest, progress
through the competitive struggle of acquisitive individ-
uals "Let it be understood,” Sumner warned,

that we cannot go outside of this alternative liberty,
inequality, survival of the fittest, not — liberty, equal-
ity, survival of the unfittest The former carries soci-
ety forward and favors all its best members, the latter
carries society downwards and favors all its worst
members

One corollary of the basic law was the doctrine of in-
alienable rights, of which much was heard in the Supreme
Court “There are rights in every free government beyond
the control of the state,” Justice Samuel F Miller asserted
Justice Field agreed “Certain inherent rights he at the
foundation of all action, and upon a recognition of them
alone can free institutions be maintained ” These rights,
we have learned, were largely economic in character

Another corollary was the proposition that ordinary law
must conform to the higher law or be utterly void Field
made use of both corollaries in his angry dissent to the
Court’s approval of greenbacks as legal tender in Knox v
Lee (1871)

, For acts of flagrant injustice there is no au-
thority in any legislative body, even though not re-
strained by any expres* >*bhitionaI prohibition
For as there are unchan ' ,I es 0 f nght ^

•• . 1 wrthout impossible.

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 143

were intensely conservative about inherited institutions
and arrangements He family, church, school, property,
and the class system, and they apparently assumed that
their adventures m finance and industrial expansion would
leave the good old ways untouched All these institutions
were asked to serve in the noble cause of economic liberty
For example, ministers of the Gospel were expected to
make the unsuccessful happy with their lot, to assure the
successful that, m Bishop Lawrence’s words, "Godliness
is in league with riches,” and to instruct the young in in-
dustry, frugality, and honesty The cold-blooded manner
m which laissez-faire conservatism made use of religion is
illustrated m this concluding passage from William Male-
peace Thayer’s Tact, Push and Principle (1880)

It is quite evident . that religion requires the
following very reasonable things of every young man,
namely that he should male the most of himself pos-
sible, that he should watch and improve his oppor-
tunities, that he should be industrious, upright,
faithful, and prompt, that he should task his talents,
whether one or ten, to the utmost, that he should
waste neither time nor money, that duty, and not
pleasure or ease, should be his watchword. . . Re-

ligion uses all the just motives of worldly wisdom,
and adds thereto those higher motives that immor-
tality creates Indeed, we might say that religion de-
mands success

“Religion demands success” — in those three words is
caught the ascendant spirit of what some call the Cilded
Ago and others the Age of Enterprise

The authentic laissez-faire conservative, hie the authen-
tic Revolutionary of 1776, believed devoutly in the exist-
ence of a higher law that dictated individual conduct, con-
trolled the workings of society, set limits to government,
and promised prosperity to men and progress to na-
tions IBs version of higher law was narrow and twisted,
)et he was convinced that he, too, had somehow got hold
of absolute truth. This conviction lent an air of sanctity
and finality to laissez-faire conservatism that accounts for

H 1 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

atives hoped that Congress and the state assemblies would
be stocked with solid men of property who were anxious
to shun the mortal sm of “over-legislation,” but, lacking
faith even in their own friends in power, they looked upon
all legislatures with suspicion The only good legislature
was an adjourned legislature For the Senate of the United
States, however, as 'for the Supreme Court, they reserved
peculiar affection In these two bodies, at least, sat natural
aristocrats almost as eminent as the “captains of industry "
For many a captain a seat in the Senate was a crown of
honor for his labors

If laissezfaire conservatives had little love for legisla-
tures, they had even less for executives In their bitter op-
position to activist government, they drove the Whig tra-
dition of Webster and Clay to absurd extremes Their
ideal President was a man who confined his activibes to
executing the will of Congress, they found their ideal near
the end of the road in Calvin Coohdge
Finally, laissez-faire conservatives were bitterly opposed
to direct democracy," plunging gladly into the fight
against deluded men” like La Follette who proposed to
erahze state constitutions, and even the great Constitu-
tl0n t 1 , ts *“* With techniques like initiative, referendum, and
reca They wanted more, not fewer restrictions on the
W n, i majority “The path of true political democ-
racy, Nicholas Murray Butler said in the spirit of conserva-

leads, in my judgment, not to more frequent elections
but to fewer elections, it leads not to more elective
officers, but to fewer, it leads not to more direct pop-
u interference with representative institutions, but
to less, it leads to a political practice in which a few
important officers are chosen for relatively long terms
o service, given much power and responsibility, and
then are held to strict accountability therefor, it
leads not to more legislation, but to infinitely less
Laissez-faire conservatives devoted few thoughts to so-
«*** were concerned only that it be left alone by
meddlers and planners to develop in its own way They

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 143

were intensely conservative about inherited institutions
and arrangements like family, church, school, property,
and the class system, and they apparently assumed that
their adventures in finance and industrial expansion would
leave the good old ways untouched All these institutions
were asked to serve m the noble cause of economic liberty
For example, ministers of the Gospel were expected to
make the unsuccessful happy with their lot, to assure the
successful that, m Bishop Lawrence’s words, "Godliness
is m league with riches,” and to instruct the young m in-
dustry, frugality, and honesty The cold-blooded manner
m which laissez-faire conservatism made use of religion is
illustrated in this concluding passage from William Make-
peace Thayer’s Tact, Push and Principle (1880)

It is quite evident . . that religion requires the

following very reasonable things of every young man,
namely, that be should make the most of himself pos-
sible, that he should watch and improve his oppor-
tunities, that he should be industrious, upright,
faithful, and prompt, that he should task his talents,
whether one or ten, to the utmost, that he should
waste neither time nor money, that duty, and not
pleasure or ease, should be his watchword. . . Re-
ligion uses all the just motives of worldly wisdom,
and adds thereto those higher motives that immor-
tality creates Indeed, we might say that religion de-
mands success.

"Religion demands success”— m those three words is
caught the ascendant spint of what some call the Gilded
Age and others the Age of Enterprise.

The authentic laissez-faire conservative, like the authen-
tic Revolutionary of 1776, believed devoutly m the exist-
ence of a higher law that dictated individual conduct, con-
trolled the workings of society, set limits to government,
and promised prosperity to men and progress to na-
tions Hu version of higher law was narrow and twisted,
yet he was convinced that he, too, had somehow got hold
of absolute truth. This conviction lent an air of sanctity
and finality to laissez faire conservatism that accounts for

144

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

much of the passion with which its spokesmen assaulted
advocates of reform Men who tampered with the estab-
lished order were not only fools for ignoring the advice of
leaders of enterprise, but idiots for challenging eternal ver-
ities God and Nature have ordained the chances and con-
ditions of life on earth once and for all," Sumner wrote
“The case cannot be opened We cannot get a revision of
the laws of human life "

Sumner and his colleagues grounded their higher law on
the assumption of immutable selfishness in human nature
e nub of the law was simply “Darwin plus Spencer”
n . atura * selcttl °n. the survival of the fittest, progress
through the competitive struggle of acquisitive individ-
uals Let ,t be understood ” Sumner warned,

that we cannot go outside of this alternative liberty,
inequality, survival of the fittest, not— liberty, equal-
ity, survival of the unfittest The former carries soci-
ety forward and favors all its best members, the latter
cames society downwards and favors all its worst
members

.1,25.1 °/ the baS,C kw was doctrine of in*

rW b ^£ 8htS ' ° f Whlch much heard in the Supreme
1 ,Cr r.f e nghtS “ evei y frcc government beyond
t J««* Samuel F Miller asserted

foundatm* 6 r a S^ eet * Certain inherent nghts he at the
*“ “ d »P» a mcogrotron of them

„!" h “ be maintained* The,, rights,

1.. ’ " e re largely economic m character

Another corolluy was u,, p ropos , u „ lha , ordl „ Uw

SI >"Ste. law „ bo utterly said Field
Court! a ° Ib e.iuuLuis in his angry dissent to the
Court s^pproia 1 of gmcubacls a. legal ui.de in Knox v

lh„L,ro ,C “ ° ! • there is no au-

. y ui any egulatiso body, esen though not se-
suaiacd by any esptoss consbtuuonal pTohib.tion
for a. there m, unchangeable prioaplea of right and
inoraLty, without which socacty would bo Impossible,

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 145

and men would be but wild beasts preying upon
each other, so there are fundamental principles of
eternal justice, upon the existence of which all con-
stitutional government is founded, and without which
government would be an intolerable and hateful tyr-
anny

On most occasions laissez-faire justices had no trouble
finding an "express constitutional prohibition” with which
to strike down a piece of meddling legislation This did not
render such legislation any less a violation of eternal jus-
tice, however, for the express prohibition, like the whole
Constitution, was looked upon as an earthly interpretation
of higher law.

This new version of the law of nature pointed to inevita-
ble progress While there were some doubters, notably
Sumner, among the more solid of its oracles, most laissez-
faire conservatives professed to believe with Carnegie m
the "certain and steady progress of the race” Although
the doctnne of inevitable progress strayed far from the
Conservative tradition, it had a thoroughly conservative
purpose and w fact served nobly as a defense of the estab-
lished order Since the order was itself the promise of
progress, all reforms could be branded as reactionary med-
dling

Robert McCloskey has observed that laissez-faire con-
servatives tended to equate civilization with industrializa-
tion, and progress with “the accumulation of capital and
the proliferation of industrial inventions” Their view of
the whole social process, however, seems to have been
genuinely optimistic Progress, individualism, negative
government, liberty, property, competition, struggle, the
survival of the fittest — tnese were the essence of nature’s
commands The last of these was first in importance In
the ever fresh words with which the junior Rockefeller is
said to have explained it all to a Sunday-school class

The growth of a Urge business is merely a survival
of the fittest The American Beauty rose can be
produced in the splendor and fragrance which bring
cbeer to its beholder only by sacrificing the early

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

buds which grow up around it This is not an evil
tendency in business It is merely tho working-out of
a law of naturo and a law of Cod.

Laissez-faire conservatism, whether os articulate philos*
ophy or mere bundlo of prejudices, gained virtually com-
plete domination over the minds of Amen cans who were
or hoped to be solid and respectable. Champions of the
new faith, most of whom needed no encouragement from
men of industrial wealth, were active in every comer of
American life. The articles of this faith were taught in
schools and colleges, preached from thousands of pulpits,
made the basis of official policy, and advanced as the moral
of countless speeches, poems, tracts, and novels While

many conservative Aracncans deplored the excesses and
injustices of industrial capitalism, they deplored them in
the languago of Camcglo and Sumner There was bttle
room for alternative political and social philosophies. Lais-
sez-faire conservatism, as packaged for general consump-
tion, seemed to express the realities and fill tho needs of
thenew America Lake all working philosophies, it was the
product of a small, self-conscious minority, vet it trickled
down through tho social order to infect and inspire several
generations of American conservatives
».ki" of finance and industry, who were far too prof-
real buMesj ° f to waste time on
thought and orjtoty, kl, .elite p„ pa6aUo „ of the faith tc.

wtfcg tOhe. « th. bench, !n J p , ^ m A fcw m .

•c . wrote books and made speeches in support of
,v, er ° Ve . r rei gned in splendor, and of

. _ , e e l° < l'icnt was the one-time immigrant bob-
/.oo./' ew ^ arlle S ie lbs Triumphant Democracy
tumiv latT 35 a J 0 ^ 0U3 byma to a free, democratic, oppor-
nerf^+i 60 4 rn ®^ lca ^ at was well on the way to earthly
° f WeaUh <*««») wi the chZ
SI iaaaKa » rvlce ^ Qr tb ® new aristocracy. And his many
solid ° men were homely catalogues of the

ohd virtues No one could challenge' Carneys nght to
dent ^ menca ’ heartily subscribe to Presi-

ent Garfield s doctrme that 'the richest heritage a young

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 , 4?

man can be bom to is poverty,’ * or "Aim for the highest,
never enter a barroom, do not touch liquor concen-
basket"^ ™ ^ 0Ur e 8S s m one basket, and watch that

1 wf a ^ na ° f P olltlcs rang with the slogans of the new
e x l > C ^ e P u bhcans were the party of unquestioned
respectability, but Democrats, too— men hke the painfully
correc Tuden and thoroughly conservative Cleveland —
w ere edicated to the ideals if not the excesses of laissez-
taire conservatism From Grant to Hoover most Pres-
ents of the United States preached the gospel of eco-
nomic individualism m the moderate, hopeful, old-fash-
loned language that appealed so strongly to the great
middle class In William McKinley and Calvin Coolidge
10 middle-class conservative found his ideal statesmen,
the eve of cataclysm, in a world made over by corpo-
rate enterprise. President Coohdge expressed in word and
pereon the old-fashioned American individualism that ha
had learned as a boy

The most thoughtful laissez-faire conservatives in high
political position, men to whom the title "statesman" can
he granted without violence to truth, were Ehhu Root and
Wdham Howard Taft Their greatest services were to the
cause of conservative constitutionalism, which they de-
fended steadfastly against the assaults of direct democ-
racy In his university lectures, speeches in the New York
Constitutional Conventions of 1894 and 1915, and ad-
dresses to the bar, Root expressed a legal and constitu-
tional philosophy in which he came as near to genuine
conservatism as did any politically activ e man of his time
He delivered the conservative’s solemn message to advo-
cates of government by the people, "the great truth that
self-restraint Is the supreme necessity and the supreme
virtue of a democracy," and ho expressed the persistent
conservative belief that respect for old ways and perma-
nent values is the prerequisite of true progress.

The leaders of enterprise found many allies on the cam-
pus, though the numbers and enthusiasm of academic in-
dividualists declined sharply after the i88o*s The most
influential of these men was William Graham Sumner, a

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

148

truly commanding figure, who wrote prolifically and elo-
quently in dension of "the absurd effort to make the world
over and m support of his own brand of “Liberalism.” It
is a telling commentary on the character of business think-
ing that he fell into some difficulties with the Yale author-
ities over his anh-protectionist views

University presidents were much in demand as orators
for the cause of economic liberty Nicholas Murray Butler
of Columbia, Arthur T Hadley of Yale, and A Lawrence
Lowell of Harvard were educators who, though voicing
occasional doubts about the absolute purity of the gospel
of laissez-faire, could be counted on to smite the reformers
hip and thigh Theodore Dwight Woolsey of Yale and
John W Burgess of Columbia were the most eminent polit-
ical scientists to deplore the nso of powerful, majontanan
government The latter’s Reconciliation of Gooerment vnth
Liberty (1915) brought all history to the support of con-
servative constitutionalism Other influential academic ex-
ponents of the new individualism were the classical econ-
omists, many of whose writings were used as texts in col-
leges throughout the land Cencral Francis A Walker.
Henry Wood, David A. Wells, Arthur L Perry, Thomas
Nixon Carver, J Lawrence Laughhn, and John Bates
Clark While several of these men came to recognize the
need for some sort of government intervention to preserve
the competitive sjstem, all served a science of economics
ase on the acquisitive individual and the self -regulating
market

Bar and bench bristled with wamors for laissez-faire
conservatism From the founding of the American Bar As-
sociation in 1878, meetings of this conservative group
were, in Edward S Corwin’s words, "a sort of juristic sew-
ing circle for mutual education in the gospel of laisses-
faire John A Campbell, Thomas N Cooley, William M
Evarts, James C Carter, John F Dillon, William D Guth-
rie, Christopher G Tiedeman, and Joseph H Choate were
a few of the stalwarts engaged in shielding corporate in-
terests against Populism, Grangensm, and Pxogressivism
The spirit and purpose of their labors were bluntly stated
m Tiedeman s Treatise on the Limitations of the Police

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 I49

Powers (1886): to defend economic liberty against “an
absolutism more tyrannical . . than any before experi-
enced by man, the absolutism of a democratic majority."

The high-water mark of legal conservatism was Choate’s
argument before the Supreme Court m 1895 against the
income tax, which he branded a “communistic" death-
blow to “that great fundamental principle that underlies
the Constitution, namely, the equality of all men before
the law" The happy news that Choate’s reasoning had
prevailed and that the Court had voided the income tax
was greeted by the editor of the New York Sun with these
words

The wave of socialistic revolution has gone far, but
it breaks at the foot of the ultimate bulwark set up
for the protection of our liberties Five to four the
Court stands like a rock.

While five-to-four decisions are not generally consid-
ered the sign of a rockhke judiciary, the Sun’s grimly exult-
ant comment doe* reveal the depth of laissez-faire con-
servative devotion to the Supreme Court Well might
the mellifluous Henry R. Estabrook salute the Court as
“the most rational, considerate, discerning, veracious, im-
personal power — a power peculiar and unique in the his-
tory of the world," for through all the years between
Grangensm and the New Deal it was the faithful, only oc-
casionally fractious servant of the new industrialism It
strengthened the technique of judicial review, trans-
formed the due-process clause of the Fourteenth Amend-
ment into a bulwark of economic liberty.^ spun out such
fictions as the corporation as person and the employer and
worker as bargaining equals, met the ch all enge of organ-
ized labor with the injunction and the doctrine of freedom
of contract, and took direct charge of reviving the higher
law The opinions and speeches of such shdwaits as
Stephen ]. Field, David J Brewer, Rufus W. Peckham,
and George Sutherland were classic expressions of laissez-
faire conservatism.

The pulpit swelled the nsmg chorus In many a church,
parishioners heard more preaching 0/ the Gospel of

150

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Wealth than of the Gospel of Christ The Right Reverend
William Lawrence, Episcopal Bishop of Massachusetts
from 1893 to 1926, proclaimed the affinity of “wealth and
morals” Russell Con well, a Philadelphia Baptist, preached
the solemn duty of making money in his fantastically pop-
ular Acres of Dmmonds President James McCosh of
Pnnceton defended property as a divine right And Henry
Ward Beecher announced, in the midst of hard times

I do not say that a dollar a day is enough to support
a working man But it is enough to support a man!
Not enough to support a man with five children if a
man insists on smoking and drinking beer • But
the man who cannot live on bread and water is not
fit to live

True to the American tradition of sects and sectaries,
the age of industrial expansion gave nse to a new religion,
a brand of mysticism called "New Thought ” which was
dedicated openly to success in this world rather than sal-
vation m the next The highroad to nches, according to the
priests of this cult, was open to men who practiced the
Jnmtan virtues and exerted "personal magnetism” and
nigh-pressure salesmanship "

Finally, the world of letters and oratory contributed a
small army to the cause John Fiske and Edward L You-
mans earned the teachings of Herbert Spencer to audi-
ences all over Amenca Horatio Alger’s novels and Wil-
ham Makepeace Tha j er’s biographies of poor boys who
tod made good sold literally millions of copies Elbert
Hubbard took his countless readers on moralistic Little
Journeys to the Homes of Good Men and Great Thou-
sands of lesser imitators of these moulders of American
opinion wrote and lectured m the associated causes of vir-
tue, effort, and success

In 1915 Truxton Beale, troubled by the rapid advance
of government intervention under Wilson’s New Freedom,
aunched a special edition of Herbert Spencer’s evangel of
laissez-faire. The Man versus the State What makes this
bon especially interesting is the galaxy of men whom
e prevailed upon to add approving comments to Spen-

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 151

cer's fiercely anti-statist essays Nicholas Murray Butler,
Charles William Eliot, Augustus P Gardner, Elbert H
Gary, Henry Cabot Lodge, Ekhu Root, David Jayne Hill,
and, oddly enough, Harlan Fiske Stone Their tribute to
Spencer, the English philosopher who had converted Dar-
win’s biology into a “scientific” explanation of the workings
of human society, was earnest, eloquent, and long over-
due Between 1870 and 1890 his brand of Social Darwinism
reigned supreme over many of the best minds of the Amer-
ican Right, and certainly no foreign philosopher ever had
a more visible effect on American thought His visit to
America in 1882, climaxed by a lavish banquet and even
more lavish round of speeches at Delmomco’s, was an
extraordinary triumph for a man who had been thinker
rather than doer The ultimate tribute to Spencer’s philos-
ophy is in Carnegie’s Autobiography “Light came as in a
flood and all was clear ” The best explanation of its popu-
larity is in T C Cochran’s and William Miller's The Age
of Enterprise “To a generation singularly engrossed in the
competitive pursuit of industrial wealth it gave cosmic
sanction to free competition In an age of science, it ‘scien-
tifically’ justified ceaseless exploitation * The businessmen,
politicians, professors, lawyers, judges, preachers, authors,
and orators who advertised the beauties of laissez-faire
conservatism were all, whether they knew it or not, dis-
ciples of Herbert Spencer. The greatest of American Iais-
sez-faire conservatives was an English Liberal

We have looked into laissez-faire conservatism with unu-
sual care because knowledge of its history and principles
is the key to an understanding, not only of the mind of the
modem Right, but of the development of the whole Amer-
ican political tradition I shall put off using this key until
a later chapter, restricting these concluding remarks to a
summing-up of the post-Civil War Right and its extraor-
dinary political theory.

In defiance or ignorance of the spirit of nineteenth-cen-
tury Conservatism, but true to its practical and opportun-
istic character, the Right made a peace of convenience
and profit with the two mighty forces of the age. de-

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

152

mocracy and industrialism Instead of fighting a rear-guard
action against the advance of democracy, it recognized
that popular government was here to Stay and set out to
control such government to its own ends Instead of resist-
ing the nse of industrialism, it acted as the chief agent and
became the chief beneficiary of technological change In
short, instead of practising a dogged conservatism and
reaping the usual harvest of unpopularity, it made a most
unconservahve bid for the admiration of its own age and
the plaudits of posterity It did all this in casual confidence
that neither democracy nor industrial expansion would
shake old values and comipt old institutions

In welcoming the science of Darwin and Spencer and in
reviving the higher law, laissez-faire conservatism went
further than any other major school of American thought
toward a belief in absolutes There was, as we have ob-
served, an air of sanctity and finality about this faith that
seemed strangely out of place in an age of enterprise The
tnen of the Right thought they had stumbled on eternal
truth, and they were neither modest nor tentative in pro-
claiming their solution to the nddle of the ages
This solution, the command of a God who smiled on en-
terprise and of a nature that would soon hold no secrets,
was summed up as inevitable, unlimited progress through
the competitive struggle of acquisitive individuals Indi-
vidual striving, not collective effort, acquisition, not enjoy-
ment, conflict, not harmony, self-interest, not fraternal
sympathy, competition, not co-operation — these were the
preferences of God and nature
Not only did laissez-faire conservatives accept the hope-
ful teachings of Liberal democracy, they saw themselves
as the legitimate trustees of this great tradition They did
this by identifying capitalism with democracy, by convinc-
ing themselves that the economic liberty of John D Rock-
efeller was the same thing, only better, as the all-
embracing liberty of Thomas Jefferson This was not, of
course, an altogether miraculous feat The democratic
ogma had always incorporated two quite different biases
one toward political liberty, the other toward property
—and every man had a right to read it hu own way The

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 153

laissez-faire conservatives, it might be argued, were the
true heirs of Locke

What made it possible for laissez-faire conservatism to
stage this unintentional ideological coup was the shift in
the style and concern of political thought from ethics to
economics The intellectual chmate of the age was pro-
foundly materialistic Politics, religion, education, culture,
social affairs — all seemed dwarfed by the tremendous
events taking place m the arena of economic enterprise
The political thinking of the giants who strode about this
arena and of the many people who applauded them was
inevitably warped toward economic considerations In the
pages of their tracts, liberty is property, man is an eco-
nomic unit, the aristocracy is the handful of men who have
survived in the struggle Progress is equated with growth,
the free man with the successful entrepreneur, life with
earning a living, Thomas Jefferson with Herbert Spencer,
and equality before Cod and the law with "equality of
opportunity" — that is, with outrageous inequalities m sta-
tus and possession Bishop Lawrence put his stamp of epis-
copal approval on the spirit of the times when he cried

Material prosperity is helping to make the national
character sweeter, more joyous, more unselfish, more
Chnst-like That is my answer to the question as to
the relation of material prosperity to morality.

Laissez-faire conservatism was no monopoly of Carnegie
and Rockefeller, it was an outlook on life that had a broad
appeal Its extreme apostles, to be sure, were elitists with a
vengeance, hut most men who held it were neither nch
nor powerful nor, for that matter, self-conscious Sumner,
for one, made as much sense to the middle class "on the
make" as to the filin g class that had already “made
good" His "hero of civilization" was the "savings bank
depositor” no less than the millionaire, and the depositor
responded by taking a good part of Sumner’s teachings, if
not Sumner himself, to his heart.

Finally, despite its patronage of change and premature
acceptance of democracy, laissez-faire conserv atism was at

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

*54

bottom a conservative political faith It is a mistake, I
think, to treat it simply as an aberration of nineteen th-ccn-
tuiy Liberalism I would consider it equally an aberration
of Conservatism, a philosophy preservative in purpose and
traditionalist in principle The men who shared this philos-
ophy were fundamentally conservative, for they opposed
all change except industrial expansion, feared reform as a
threat to the established order, and presumed to have in*
hented a system based on political and social truth Many
articles of their faith were essentials of the Conservative
tradition the inevitability of stratification, persistence of
natural inequalities, necessity of aristocracy, importance
of religion and morabty, sanctity of property, unwisdom of
majority rule, urgency of constitutionalism, and folly of
all attempts at social and economic leveling To be sure,
laissez-faire conservatives defined several of these con*
cepts m their own way, but the twists they gave to aristoc-
racy and property were nothing compared to the havoc
they wreaked upon democracy and equality Where they
clearly strayed from Conservatism was in their glorification
of rugged individualism and consequent disregard for the
community, their choice of struggle over harmony and
contract over status as the bases of sound human relations,
their fatuous optimism and confidence in progress (from
which a substantial minority dissented), and their un-
abashed, all pervading materialism They were the first
Bight m Western history to turn violently against govern-
ment, the only Right to push individualism so far as to as-
sert that a man could never be helped, only harmed, by
the assistance of the community Th’ worst tiling )e can
do Fr anny man is to do him good," were the words Mr.
Dooley put in the mouth of “Andhrew Camaygie,” and al-
though the comment may disturb many recipients of Car-
negie’s generosity, it does express die intense, almost
fanatic individualism of the creed of enterprise This creed
was neither Conservatism in the tradition of Burke (or
even Adams) nor Liberalism in the tradition of Mill (or
even Jefferson) It was, in a word, laissez faire conserva-
tism

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865-1945 155

Not every man on the Right in the decades of industrial
expansion was a confirmed laissez-faire conservative A
tiny but articulate minority of disillusioned entrepreneurs,
nostalgic agrarians, sensitive intellectuals, and gentlemen
of inherited wealth hung on gnmly and defiantly to the
values of a departed era To them the rosy promises of
Carnegie seemed as ridiculous as the rosy promises of Eu-
gene V Debs, the absolutism of Sumner as distasteful as
the absolutism of Edward Bellamy Although their writ-
ings offer a nch variety of principles and solutions, most of
them drew consciously or unconsciously on the Conserva-
tism of Adams and Burke They refused to put faith m
predictions of inevitable progress or take delight in the
marks of "progress" all about them To the contrary, they
were revolted by the decline in public morality, decay of
manners, and vulgarity of the newly nch, frightened by a
landscape gashed with lactones and cities choked with
immigrants The old Amenca of then fathers was being
transformed at a mad pace to a new, unlovely Amenca,
and they were not at all sure that the transformation could
be halted this side of a total collapse of civilized values In
an age in which most men on the Right displayed an exu-
berant optimism that was characteristically American, a
small band of dissenters displayed a solemn pessimism that
was characteristically Conservative

They cared no more for the fruits of democracy than for
those of mdus tnalism They had never really made peace
with Jefferson and Jackson, and they could not bring
themselves now, in the days of Blaine and Tweed, to be-
lieve that plain men could make wise choices and govern
themselves effectively and honestly In their hearts they
Still earned the dream of government by gentlemen They,
too, were elitists, but their ideal elite was an aristocracy of
virtue, intelligence, property, and manners, not a band of
hard-fisted adventurers who had managed to survive a
fight to the death. A contempt for plutocracy arose natu-
rally m the minds of men who tried, often successfully, to
hold out against the sweep of materialism across the Amer-
ican mind Unlike most of their compatriots on the Right,
they refused to equate bigness with greatness, capital ac-

xs6

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

cumulation with the general welfare, or invention with
progress. They persisted, to their sorrow and anger, in
judging nations in terms of artists and cathedrals rather
than millionaires and factories
The men of this minority clung to the Conservatism of
the past in rejecting the doctime of rugged individualism
and all its corollaries Although they were deeply con-
cerned with the rights and personality of the individual,
they would not be drawn into an attitude of contempt for
government and neglect of the community While their
i ea man, like the man of the American tradition, was
onest, hard-working, and self reliant, he was also chari-
e, sensitive, and co-operative Most of them agreed
t individual effort was essential to progress, but only
sue effort as staged within the bounds of tradition and
common decency Harmony and status, not conflict and
e cash nexus, ’ were their guides to sound human rela-

The dissident Conservatives of the age of industrial ex-
pansion were plainly out of step with most of their fellow
countrymen in the march toward the American future A
corpora s guard of men who could make peace with
neither industrialism nor democracy, they had little influ-
ence on a nation m which these forces were the accepted
Tw a T SOU 8 ht no ^anks from the people they
astised, and they got none Yet they did keep the Con-
T . ad,h0n atve » d on, y barely alive, for future
icm J* W ^° mi 8^ 1 weary of progress, optimism, matenal-
’ emocrac y. and rugged individualism, and we should
pay oor respect, to the roost promment of them
f ^ . ams famiI y- properly enough, produced a pair of
hu toted aristocrats who*, Conserve Sve mustngi con-
ascinate historians of the American mind The
effl,r“u ™e‘" g5 0t Henr y Adams — especially hts Edo-
eatton, JfoM-Sumt.Jf.chel and Chartres, and letters to
chnllf» S 311 , were a severe and often unanswerable

and nraWs °i j 6 °P hm,shc advocates of mdustnal progress
term^ f emocrac y His countrymen, rather wisely in
^ lr lrn mediate interests, chose to ignore the
challenge How else could they have dealt with a man

157

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1865*1945

who stated bluntly “The progress of evolution from Pres-
ident Washington to President Grant was alone enough to
upset Darwin"? While his lifelong search for a social or-
der marked by peace, unity, faith, harmony, and stability
led Henry Adams in time to spiritual affinity with the thir-
teenth century (and thus to political alienation from the
nineteenth and twentieth), his everyday mind would have
been well content with the government of the yeomen, by
the gentry, and for the people that his great-grandfather
John had labored to build

Brooks Adams shared his brother's pessimism about
progress, skepticism of democracy, and contempt for the
industrial plutocracy His own brand of eccentricity took
him onward into the future rather than backward into the
past He was a classic example of the romantic Conserva-
tive who, despairing of regaining old ways and \alues by
negative techmques, proposes programs of reform so far-
reaching as to earn him the reputation of visionary radical-
His cure for America's sad state was proposed in terms that
must have troubled his heart while they appealed to his
reason administrative supremacy and flexibility, concen-
tration of power, social planning, national supremacy, and
state socialism Yet he continued to think in a fundamen-
tally Conservative spirit.

Perhaps the hottest argument of the old-fashioned
Right with laissez-faire conservatism was over the identity
and duty of the little band of uncommon men upon whose
leadership civilization depended The pretensions of the
new man of wealth were never more effectively chal-
lenged than by Brooks Adams In his Theory of Social Rev-
olutions (1913), he condemned this man and his influence
on the social order in words that still cany meaning.

The modem capitalist looks upon life as a financial
combat of a very specialized land, regulated by a
code which he understands and has indeed himself
concocted, but which is recognized by no one else m
the world. . . He is not responsible, for be is not a
trustee far the public If be be restrained by legisla-
tion, that legislation is in his eye an oppression and an

‘58

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

outrage, to be annulled or eluded by any means
which will not lead to the penitentiary . . Thus of
necessity, he precipitates a conflict, instead of estab-
lishing an adjustment Ho is, therefore, in essence, a
revolutionist without being aware of it.

This was the angry protest of the rejected aristocrat
against the reigning plutocrat, of the uncommon man who
longed for peace against the uncommon man who de-
ghted in struggle, of the thinker who looked to leadership
for preservation and harmony against the doer whose lead-
ership brought change and conflict

Paul Elmer More and Irving Babbitt, critics of upstart
men and plebeian culture who reached the peak of their
powers m the days of Warren G Harding, were other
leaders of the Conservative minority Their “new human-
ism was a sophisticated restatement of the Conservative
tradition The natural inequality of men, education as a
process of discovering and exploiting superior talents and
energies, justice as a fair division of rewards according to
aC , f l j Ven,e . nt * t ^ ie natural aristocracy based on virtue and
self -discipline (the “inner check"), the dangers of uiue-
s ame individualism, the improbability of successful
democracy— these are the constant themes of Babbitt’s
emocracy and Leadership (1924) and Mores Shel-
oume especwUy Aristocracy and Justice (1913)

Babbitt pushed beyond More in his distrust of democracy
and regard for authority. More be>ond Babbitt m his de-
ense o property They also differed in their attitude to-
warn religion Babbitt never could find communion with
. ° A ' ^ 1 e More traveled the long road from skepticism
to Anglican orthodoxy They spoke as one m their insist-
ence on the need for a true aristocracy Babbitt wrote
Democracy and Leadership in an effort to show

that genuine leadership, good or bad, there will al-
ways e, and that democracy becomes a menace to
civilization when it seeks to evade the truth On
e appearance of leaders who have recovered in
some orm the truths of inner life may depend
toe very survival of Western civilization

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, J.865-1945 159

“We have the naked question to answer,* More echoed.

How shall a society, newly shaking itself free
from a disguised plutocratic regime, be guided to
suffer the persuasion of a natural aristocracy which
has none of the insignia of an old prescnpbon to im-
pose its authority?

The quest of Babbitt and More was for men who could
hold the balance between plutocracy and egalitarianism
To them the problem of political theory was to discover
methods of persuading democracy to revive aristocracy, in
Babbitt’s memorable admonition, "to substitute the doc-
trine of the right man for the rights of man ”

Again we have bad to neglect some exciting exemplars
of conservative political and social thought A definitive
history of the post-Cml War Right would tell of George
Santayana, who lingered for a fame among us and warned
of the inevitable excesses of democracy and capitalism,
Ralph Adams Cram, whose love for the * High Democracy”
of the Middle Ages was the zenith of intellectual reaction
in the United States, Agnes Repplier, a gracious lady of
Philadelphia, whose essays spoke fondly of the "Consola-
tions of the Conservative", H L Mencken, the "curdled
progressive,” whose savage yet amusing Notes on Democ-
racy ( 1926) proclaimed the average American’s “congeni-
tal incapacity for the elemental duties of citizens in a civi-
lized state”, Albert Jay Nock, who managed to be at one
and the same time a disciple of Burke, Jefferson, Henry
George, and Spencer, Madison Grant, one of several
Rightist thinkers who injected the racist doctrines of Go-
bineau and Chamberlain into their cnbque of American
democracy, Barrett Wendell, Charles Ebot Norton, and
James Russell Lowell, leaders in the revival of sentimental
Federalism known as the "Genteel Tradibon”, Edith
Wharton, WUla Cather, Ellen Glasgow, and Edward Ar-
lington Robinson, writers with a deep concern for tradition
and morabty, E L. Godkin, whose Unforeseen Tendencies
of Democracy (1898) expressed disillusionment with the
new civilization he had tned so hard, in bis own limited
and genteel way, to save from vulgarity and degradation.

>58

CONSERVATISM Of AMERICA

outrage, to be annulled or eluded by any means
which will not lead to the penitentiary . . Thus of
necessity, he precipitates a conflict, instead of estab-
lishing an adjustment He is, therefore, in essence, a
revolutionist without being aware of it.

This was the angry protest of the rejected aristocrat
against the reigning plutocrat, of the uncommon man who
onged for peace against the uncommon man who de-
ghted in struggle, of the thinker who looked to leadership
or preservation and harmony against the doer whose lead-
ership brought change and conflict

Paul Elmer More and Irving Babbitt, critics of upstart
men and plebeian culture who reached the peak of their
powers in the days of Warren G Harding, were other
eaders of the Conservative minority Their "new human-
vvas a sophisticated restatement of the Conservative
bon The natural inequality of men, education as a
process of discovering and exploiting superior talents and
energies, justice as a fair division of rewards according to
ac ievement, the natural aristocracy based on virtue and
e - iscipW (the "inner check’ ) , the dangers of unre-
st aine individualism, the improbability of successful
emocracy these are the constant themes of Babbitt’s
Democracy and Leadership (1924) and More’s Shel
Essays, especially Aristocracy and Justice (igis)

, 1 P us ec ^ beyond More in his distrust of democracy
f J: reg t for auth °nty. More beyond Babbitt in his de-

, 1 ° P r °perty They also differed in their attitude to-

r ,1 \ ?'° n Ba bbitt never could find communion with

tn Anil * 6 k °[ e Raveled the long road from skepticism
They spoke os one m On nut.
n e neec * ^ or a bne aristocracy Babbitt wrote

Democracy and Leadership m an effort to show

*at genuine leadership, good or bad, there will al-
a >s e, and that democracy becomes a menace to
civilization when it seeks to evade the truth On
e a PP ear ance of leaders who have recovered in
some form the truths of inner life may depend
the verv survival of Western civilization

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1S65-I945 l6l

If the years between McKinley and Coohdge were the
full season of laissez-faire conservatism, the years between
Hoover and the Eightieth Congress were a notous Indian
summer It would serve us no purpose, rather glut us with
the familiar, to examine in detail the barrage of ideas
directed by the spokesmen of a shocked, disbelieving Right
against the programs and tactics of Franklin D Roosevelt,
chiefly because not one of these ideas displayed even a
trace of freshness The conservative defense of the 1930’s
was an almost perfect copy of the conservative defense of
the 1890 's, which is to say that it was laissez-faire conserv-
atism with few doubts and no apologies President Hoover
sang the praises of old-fashioned American individualism
in his Challenge to Liberty (1934), and in true Sumnenan
fashion made clear that the challenge proceeded exclu-
sively from an arrogant, swollen, meddling government
Justice Sutherland and his outraged brethren m the Su-
preme Court rang the old changes of conservative consti-
tutionalism with a vigor that would have cheered the heart
of Stephen J Field The American Liberty League and
other like-minded groups were fountains of articles and
brochures that could have been written word-for-word,
as m fact some of the best of them were, by Sumner,
Field, Carnegie, Elbert Hubbard, Nicholas Murray But-
ler, and, of course, Herbert Spencer While Jefferson the
progressive, the rationalist and democrat, was recalled
and placed in ideological command of the forces of a
bumptious progressivism, Jefferson the hmitatiomst, the
anti-statist and states-nghter, found himself in a similar
position of command in the forces of a pamc-stncken con-
servatism For the men of the Right the fracas of the
1930’s was Hadley's Conflict between Liberty and Equal-
ity all over again, and in the conflict these men, unthink-
ing conservatives that they were, seized gladly upon the
old ideas that had served them so w ell in the past and be-
labored the New Deal as a menace to human liberty Amer-
ica had changed greatly since 1896. but one would never
have guessed it by reading the literature of the Right
The core of the conservative defense against Franklin D
Roosevelt was the apparently tuneless rhetoric of William

i6o

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Oliver Wendell Holmes, jr , a patrician skeptic whose doc-
trine of judicial self-restraint still leads some people to
think of hun as a progressive, and finally, Theodore Roose-
velt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and John Hay, Republican men
of action who were deeply troubled by what Lodge called
the gigantic modem plutocracy and its lawless ways ”

We have, m any case, made this essential point m the
ru 8§ e d wilderness of laissez-faire conservatism a few
voices still cried out from the Right against industrialism,
materialism, plutocracy, and individualism, in short, against
the whole course of American history Having made this
point, I would add another no one in the seats of power
—often no one at all— paid the slightest attention to these
cautionary voices In 1820 men like More and Henry
Adams would have been listened to respectfully, in 1920
ey were classed as silly, useless, irritating reactionaries
The Conservative tradition had withered in the fiery fur-
naces of industrial, democratic America, and the men who
continued to proclaim ,t were intellectual ghosts Adams ,
composed the epitaph for the Conservatism of his fathers
when he wrote of himself

He had stood up for his eighteenth century, his
Constitution of 1789, h.s Ccorge Washington, his
Harvard College, h.s Quincy, and his Plymouth Pil-
gnms, as ong as any one would stand up with him
He had sa‘d it was hopeless twenty years before, but
e a ept on, in the same old attitude, by habit and
taste, until he found himself altogether alone He had
u gg us antiquated dislike of bankers and canitabs-
crank 06 ^ become little better than a

season °f laissez-faire conservatism, to be a
Conservative was to be Tittle better than a crank” To
of A ° W S * e m ^ uence and esteem the peculiar course
* ■ ®*” can history had brought the high principles of
J. V ,, Ad fI nS and hu fnen ds Never in all that history ha s
1^^ n persuasion of uncompromising conservatism
0lW by tho Amccai peopl.

YI

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM
IN THE AGE OF
ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER

O R

The Search for Identity
in the Welfare State

a

A nation that considers itself a success and finds itself
under attack has little use for progressive reform and none
at all for radical ferment Small wonder, then, that Amer-
ica’s present mood displays an obstinate streak of conserv-
atism, Our triumphs are soured with frustration, our pros-
perity with apprehension, our taste for peace with prep-
arations for war We are all more conservative than we
were a generation ago Even the reformer, the man with
his heart in the future, is beard to speak the language of
tradition, lojalty, order, and preservation We ha\e been
beckoned bravely toward the New Frontier, but there is
as yet no general disposition to send out a major expedi-
tion in search of it.

The Right, needless to say. has prospered greatly in the
Course of this long Swing of the political pendulum toward
conservatism. If it is not quite so strong and confident as it
was in the salad days of Eisenhower, Taft, and, let us not
forget, McCarthy, it is still a powerful and style-setting

162

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA
S" S “ Ce ““ rte “™ of He early New Deal n
S T SoT P ' rI " p ‘ U “‘ f “»“ '■foolos'oef con-
te of Left and R.ght Cells us a, much about the nature of

&. P ?.r“T> ”’ d " d “ f *» Anrencan pelbeal
Heusht, as ,t d^ abet natare of Ame[ ,„ J1

IN THE ACE OF ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER 1 6 $

ists a useful rule of thumb with which to identify those
who belong on the Right Like any rule of thumb, its accu-
racy is something less than one hundred per cent

The contemporary Right, in my opinion, includes those
who now admit to distaste for the dominant political the-
ory and practice of the twenty years between Hoover and
Eisenhower — for New Deal and Fan Deal, Roosevelt and
Truman, service state and welfare state, reform at home
and adventure abroad In Chapter I we took note of anta-
radicalism as an element m conservatism Having waded
hip-deep through the political literature of these years, I
would assert without hesitation that the conservatism of
the modern Right is essentially a posture of anti-radical-
ism, even of anti-progressivism — a many-sided yet integral
reaction to the New Deal, its leader, and his political heirs,
among the most prominent of whom one might mention
the old Henry Wallace, the old and new Harry S Tru-
man, Adlai Stevenson, John L Lewis, Walter Reuthcr,
Hubert Humphrey, Eleanor Roosevelt, Averell Hamman,
and now John F Kennedy The decisiv e factor m the shap-
ing of modem American conservatism was, of course,
Franklin D Roosevelt lumself, the ambivalent legend as
well as the real man, and the process of shaping is still far
from completed Roosevelt lives on as strongly m the de-
monology of the Right as he does m the hagiology of the
Left

The continuing hostility to the man and his works
ranges from gnawing, unforgiving hatred to the tolerant
judgment that, while much of what he did was prob-
ably necessary to do, he did all things rather sloppily and
some things he had no business doing at all Samuel Lu-
bell has told us about ‘ the Roosevelt coalition ” I would
suggest that there is today, m Congress and among the
people, an “anb-Roosevelt coalition ” and that it may be
labeled for what it is the American Right I would add
quickly that, thanks to the traditionalism and professional-
ism of much of our party politics, several million members
of the anti-Roosevelt coalition would stall be voting for the
man were be alive and running, and that, thanks to the
remorseless sweep of events that he did much to set in

COVSERV ATI5M IN AMERICA

,64

presence in American politics and social relations Rarely
history have so many Americans of all classes and call-
ings stood fast in the ranks of preservation and order.
Rarely have tho ranks been infiltrated by so many fcar-
prcachmg demagogues Nostalgia, patriotism, fear of the
unknown, dislike of tho critic and his criticisms, distrust

0 e rc orTncr an ‘i Jui reforms — in theso sentiments the
con 1 emporary Right haj been indulging with uncommon
enthusiasm and attention to ntual, and m them the con-
temporary Left finds a stubborn block m the way of its
well-advertised “march into the American future."

Tenaciously conservative in mood and practise, the
Might remains almost a.nly Liberal in ideal and oratory,
slandered by our enemies and chastised by our allies, few

01 us can find any better way to defend the Republic than

o s out the comfortable old slogans of the American tra-
il in 1885 or :90s or 1925, the loudest voices in

this chorus seem to come from the Right They sing a
good deal more enthusiastically than (hey once did about
Io>aRy and responsibility, they smg a little less confidently
,r Ct ^ a ^ ?° d progress Tor the most part, however,
Uiey prockum the trad.tion earnestly, and since the tradf-
.. _ “ Sound 103 >* stiU about four parts Liberal-

at«™ « P i art C T SC r at “ m * much of the case for conserv-
A t' £ T * e ^guage of Jefferson rather than of
mcnfor^ui C V “ St than S« S,ncc J 933 . many spokes-
Npw . ',1 R ' S * sound 1 'ke so many Calvin Coohdges
ideal inA Cr ? CCn *° Wld ° a S a P on Right between

isitar be "’ ,d '™s - * comfort-

pow 57w- S the fo llbcai pnnaples of the contem-
S A l F? do our ***' to identify the men in

handed A dlIS ma y seera to many a rather high-

c^stn3 ^ g> 1 3m °° nfident men who mfde
SSSLTv 01 the T""* ^ “Leftist" will not
lee as nor. ° b,e f Ct L bems descn bed, quite without taal-
MtZTT™? R ‘S ht A'lhoogh i, may aio .earn
P 1 e undertakuig, I am convinced that there ex-

IN THE ACE OF ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER 167

tjonal democracy A handful of these Americans are full-
blown, self-confessed authoritarians, even totalitanans,
men who are outspokenly hostile to parliamentary govern-
ment, capitalist enterprise, and the open society Whether
they should be classed as Fascists is as much a problem
in semantics as in political science, especially Since the
best-known *, American Fascist,” Lawrence Dennis, always
denied flatly that he was a Fascist and professed a number
of undoubted libertarian principles None the less, we may
cite his two most thoughtful books. The Coming American
Fascism (1936) and The Dynamics of War and Revolu-
tion ( 1940), as major statements of the case for the inevi-
tability and necessity of government by an irresponsible
elite

Most American authoritarians, certainly all those I met
in the course of my inquiry, are as quick with the slogans
of old-fashioned Liberalism as any orator at a national con-
vention Caught between antithetical beliefs— political
authoritarianism and economic individualism — they have
made their choice, in their minds if not in their viscera, for
the latter They declare their allegiance to the whole
American creed and rarely permit themselves to think con-
sciously along authoritarian lines There Is a good deal of
wisdom in Robert A Brady’s comment, “It is practically
certain that if a coup d'etat ever comes in America from
the right it will be advertised as a defense of democratic
freedoms and a blow at Fascism ” It is equally certain that
most of those implicated m the coup will believe what they
say The question whether these men are Fascists might
be answered in this way they are not now, but they might
easily become so in an internal situation like that of 193a
or an external one like that of 1938 While I agree with
Harry Girvetz's observation, “There are many places in
America which have harbored fascist tendencies, some of
them as holy as the Shrine of the Little Flower, as high as
the Tribune Towei, and as vast as San Simeon," I would
insist that “fascist tendencies” are not Fascism, any more
than “communist tendencies” are Co mmun ism In any
case, it is safe to say that precious few Americans are now
adherents of Fascism w any precise sense of this word.

166 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

motion, we have all been vofang for a continuation and
even expansion of his works for almost two decades
I have lived and traveled much among the men on the
American Right I have read scores of their books and hun-
dreds of their articles, collected a large file of their edito-
rials and letters, listened attentively to their orators at
lunches and rallies, and clipped uncounted specimens of
their musings from the appendix of the Congressional Rec-
ord I have talked long and profitably with their willing
spokesmen m all parts of the country and all v\ alks of hfe
1 have visited more than two dozen offices of the organ-
izations that attract their money and speak in their name,
and in most of them I have been greeted with courtesy,
instructed with candor, and loaded with still more litera-
ture And having done all this, I am convinced that, in
terms of their political attitudes, they fall with few excep-
tions into several reasonably precise categories

Before we list them, let me say again what I have said
before the attempt to be taxonomic about the political
attitudes of half a nation is a dangerous undertaking, one
that can be justified only as the least delusive technique
for plotting the contours of a largely unexplored area of
American thought The reader is therefore begged to re-
member that the line between any two of these categories
is not a line but an imperceptible gradation, and that there
are any number of variations within each category He
should remember, too, that we are classifying men, not
gall wasps Some Americans — the pure opportunists, for
example have no principles and therefore defy this sort
of classification Others have opinions so loose or eccentric
or ill-conceived that they seem to fit with equal ease into
any one of three or four slots Still others are more conserv-
ative or liberal about some special concern like religion or
civil rights than they are in their general outlook, and they,
10 P m down Having issued this warning, 1
offer this rough and empirical classification, which pro-
ceeds from the Right extremity toward the center of the
American political spectrum

America, too, has its authontanans of the Right, its citi-
zens who are not merely critics but enemies of consbtu-

IN THE ACE OP ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER J.69

Although most inhabitants of the contemporary Bight
are committed to individualism, only a few are consistent,
thoroughgoing individualists, men who seem entirely will-
ing to drive this doctnne straight through to its logical
conclusion philosophical anarchy The father of this hardy
band was Albert Jay Nock, whose Our Enemy, the State
(i 935 ) and Memoirs of a Superfluous Mon (1943)
preached a gospel of laissez-faire that was really Lussez-
faire The best-known contemporary exponents of pure in-
dividualism are John Chamberlain, who has about as much
use for the state as did Jefferson or Sumner; Ayn Rand,
whose novel The Fountainhead is a great favorite among
young men who seek to soar on pinions free, and Frank
Chodorov, whose One Is a Crowd (1952) is a near-an-
archistic tract against the "iniquity” of the income tax
and the * fraud” of Social Security Lest there be any doubt
of the lengths to which Chodorov is willing to go in dis-
mantling the apparatus of government, it should be noted
that he applauds South Carolina's threat to abolish its pub-
lic-school system "South Carolina has shown us the way
that could lead us out of the clutches of Stabsm "

It would be a fascinating exercise to probe the minds
of Americans in each of these four categones This, how-
ever, would direct attention away from the great body
of conservatives and toward a collection of men and
women who, taken altogether, cannot number much more
than five per cent of the American Right I will make only
one or two further comments on them first, they are not
genuine conservatives, but either reactionaries shot full of
the radicalism of fear and envy, reactionaries pure and
simple, or opportunists in an age and country where
anti-radicalism offers the best opportunities Next, only
the second group, the professional haters, have had any
real influence on the mind of conservative America, and
this they have had by catering to the worst instincts of
certain conservative citizens who should have known
better Just as these traducers have been “fellow travelers
of Fascism," so, it is painful to observe, have too many
conservatives been their fellow travelers in hate and prej-
udice Finally, rt seems clear whd® Fascvste. taA pro-

i68

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

which must be used with unfailing precision

A much more suable number of Americans can be lo-
cated in "the radical Right” The pseudo-conservatives,
as they have been labeled by Richard Hofstadter, form a
motley and deafening band of men and women who roam
the outer reaches of American democracy and hurl their
lances, usually dipped in the poison of racism, against the
twin specters of “left-wing radicalism” and “spendthrift,
subversive internationalism.” “Although they believe
themselves to be conservatives” and often “employ the
rhetoric of conservatism,” Hofstadter writes, they show
signs of a serious and restless dissatisfaction with Amen-
^®» traditions, and institutions ” While the choleric
gnt has always been with us in America, seldom have
professions! haters like Cerald L K Smith and Robert
elch found so receptive an audience for their demagog*
^ ‘*, a 'f n g made a good thing out of Senator McCar-
ys “ght for Amenca," they have recently made an
even better one out of Covemor Faubus’s "fight for the
South In their political theology Earl Warren appears
as a co-Satan of Frankhn D Roosevelt, as one learns in
only five minutes with the literature of the shock troops

peS^t*** ihe j° hn B,rch soc,et y

third handful of men are taking special delight in an-

0 er aspect of the present climate nostalgia. These are
e pure traditionalists, the sentimental reactionaries, the

men w o are sick, in Thomas Cook’s phrase, with “polib-
th n ? cro P‘ u ^ a Enemies of change as well as of reform,
y °ng m vain for the days of Webster and Washington
in ge with emotion m ritualistic remembrance of
, -. n ^ S M° st of them live m a state of acute cultural
schizophrenia they enjoy many of the fruits of the twen-

1 ^ Ut are shocked by the orchards that have
h l * lem ^ ort h- It is virtually impossible to find an ar-

r a , e s Pokesman for this tiny company, though people
V f as haditionaLsts are scattered everywhere among
““fortuoately, easy targets for the dema-
° f the ra f JCal R ‘ght The incidence of pure tradi-
Revnlnh ^ 0ns Daughters of the American

Revolution is especially high

m THE AGE OP ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER 169

Although most inhabitants of the contemporary Bight
are committed to individualism, only a few are consistent,
thoroughgoing individualists, men who seem entirely will-
ing to dnve this doctrine straight through to its logical
conclusion, philosophical anarchy The father of this hardy
band was Albert Jay Nock, whose Our Enemy, the Stale
( 1 935 ) and Memoirs of a Superfluous Man (1943)
preached a gospel of laissez-faire that was really laissez-
faire The best-known contemporary exponents of pure in-
dividualism are John Chamberlain, who has about as much
use for the state as did Jefferson or Sumner, Ayn Rand,
whose noiei The Fountainhead is a great favorite among
young men who seek to soar on pinions free, and Frank
Chodorov, whose One Is a Crowd (195a) is a near-an-
archistic tract against the "lniquitv” of the income tax
and the “fraud" of Social Security Lest there be any doubt
of the lengths to which Chodorov is willing to go m dis-
mantling the apparatus of government, it should be noted
that he applauds South Carolina's threat to abolish its pub-
lic-school system “South Catohna has shown us the way

. that could lead us out of the clutches of Stabsm ”

It would be a fascinating exercise to probe the minds
of Americans m each of these four categories This, how-
ever, would direct attention away from the great body
of conservatives and toward a collection of men and
women who, taken altogether, cannot number much more
than five per cent of the American Right, l will make only
One or two further comments on them first, they are not
genuine conservatives, but either reactionaries shot full of
the radicalism of fear and envy, reactionaries pure and
simple, or opportunists in an age and country where
arm-radicalism offers the best opportunities Next, only
the second group, the professional haters, have had any
real influence on the mind of conservative America, and
this they have had by catering to the worst instincts of
certain conservabve citizens who should have known
better Just as these traducers have been “fellow travelers
of Fascism," so, it is painful to observe, have too many
conservatives been theur fellow travelers in hate and prej-
udice Finally, it seems dear that, vdvAa Fascists asvd pro-

170

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

fessional haters (many of whom now pose as "Minute men")
are so many cancers and boils on the body politic, tradi-
tionalists and individualists have, in their own way, much
to contribute to the diversity of American life.

Most men on the contemporary Right may be placed in
one of three major categories, each of which counts its oc-
cupants in millions Here, in particular, we have a mean-
ing ul criterion for rough classification the relative will-
mgness of each group to accept the burdens of the New
Economy (the domesticated New Deal described m the
republican platforms of 1956 and i960) and the New
emabonalism (the bipartisan commitments to active
membership in UN and NATO, and to economic aid to
underdeveloped countries)

The late Senator Wheny liked to describe himself as a
J^i Tr nlabSt> ’ and were **“» word not used generally
en y certain Protestant sects, it might well serve as
e m°s accurate one-word description of the ultra-con -
l ? es ‘ dl0se millions of Americans whose political
, T. ,j° f 15 j" extraordlnar y mixture of sober conservatism,
j , S ^ paltlsm ' and ongry reacbon (a mixture ren-
_ a j e ven P 10 ™ extraordmary by a careless penchant for
Amen ^ whose pohbcal program is an

American vers, on of what France has come To know as
CCnTJ eSSenbalI y middle-class revolt agamst the
are inor, ° a ^ ahon ’ and agamst the uses to which taxes
diversity PUt m 1116 welfare state T 1 * 6 Slze and

conservah B “ unti y make it cert am that many ultra-
over the r, CS iT 1 ^ pei P etua ' odds with one another
S i w ^ “« ° f “ who s ets what, when, how"
Dakota (a 3 °^ dlem California housewife, a North
tor none nP < ^ uca S° banker, and a New York doc-
T . W0Uld have “ uch for any of the
legacy and all° I “ Ve even ,ess for ^ Roosevelt

New Ded mt0 . - d ““ le U ’ 5

m % s

°° " d Bn, “ "Eer. u, the <My p„ ss by the Chi-

CT THE AGE OF ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER

171

cago Tribune and the Hearst papers, among periodicals
by The Freeman and (although they may not always
understand its mordant wit) the National Review, on the
radio by Fulton Lewis, jr , and in the pulpit by the Rev
James W Fifield, among book publishers by Henry
Regnery, Devm-Adair, and the Caxton Press, and in the
held of "public education” by the American Enterprise
Association and Americans for Constitutional Action H L
Hunt is their Maecenas, Governor Bracken Lee their tax-
resisting Pym (or Pouyade), Vivien Kellems thtir Diana,
Senator McCarthy their defunct Galahad, William F
Bucldey, jr, their favonte Yaleman, Joseph M Mitchell
their ideal bureaucrat, Edwin A Walker their “model of
a modem major general,” the Intercollegiate Society of
Individualists and Young Americans for Freedom their
weapons for smashing "the tyranny of campus collectiv-
ism,” General MacArthur the one man of the old generation
they would have been happy with as President, Senator
Goldwater the one man of the new generation to whom
they seem willing to give the same land of impassioned al-
legiance Since men of their stripe can often be better known
by thur enemies than by their fnends, we might take brief
note of the most thoroughly disliked characters, living
and dead, m the rogues gallery of ultra-conservatism
Franklin D Roosevelt, John Dewey, Walter Reuther,
Alger Hiss, Eleanor Roosevelt, Arthur Schlesinger, jt,
Adam Clayton Powell, Paul Hoffman, John Kenneth Gal-
braith, and Robert M Hutchins At one extreme, in the
form of an organization like the respectable Foundation
for Economic Education, the ultra-conservatives merge
effortlessly into the great middle group of conservatives
At the other, m the form of an organization like Alien
Zoll's National Council for American Education or Carl
Mclntire’s American Council of Christian Churches, they
become so harsh and malevolent as to be fellow travelers
of Fascism Indeed, it is men like loU, Mclntire, and
Edgar C Bundy, a small but ear-sphttmg fraction of the
American people, who are out-agitatmg the Left in pro-
viding “the d ) oaifflc oi dissent" in America today Their
brand of dissent, Richard Hofstadter remarks, "is not as

173 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

powerful as the liberal dissent of the New Deal era, but
it is powerful enough to set the tone of our political life
and to establish throughout the country a hind of puni-
tive reaction" — and not exclusively in Southern California
Although many authors and pamphleteers who wnte
for the journals of ultra-conservatism may resent being
tagged even gently in this way — some insisting that they
were pure individualists, others that they were “conserva-
tive radicals” or “old-fashioned liberals,” still others that
they refused to be pached m an ideological box — 1 think
it helpful to list a few of the publicists, several of tbem no
longer living, who are especially popular among ultra-
conservative Americans John T Flynn, James Burnham,
John Chamberlain, Russell Kirk, William F Buckley, jr ,
Frank S Meyer, Clarence Manion, Norman Beasley,
Felix Morley, Willmoore Kendall, E Memll Root, Leon-
ard Read, George Sokolsky, John Dos Passos, Whittaker
Chambers, Raymond Moley, Hajold Lord Varney, Max
Eastman, Westbrook Pegler, Chesly Manly, Samuel B
PettengiQ, Louis Bromfield, Victor Lasky, Ralph de To-
Iedano, David Lawrence, Anthony Bouscaren, Freda
Utley, Caret Garrett, and J B Matthews Another group
of men who are hard to place, yet fit here as comfortably
as anywhere, are the unreconstructed classical econo-
mists Fred R Fairchild, Henry Hazlitt, Willford I King,
F A Harper, William A Paton, Walter £ Spahr, and
those two eminent Americans-by-adopbon, Ludwig von
Mises and F A Hayek Enc Voegehn, Wilhelm Ropke,
and Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn are other European intel-
lectuals who find favor among more thoughtful ultra-
conservatives

This is, to be sure, a thoroughly mixed bag of writing
and preaching talents The gap between Kirk and Cham-
berlain in doctrine, between Eastman and Pegler in taste,
or between Meyer and Matthews in intellectual power is
an immense one, and the wonder is that there is not more
sectarianism among these critics on the Right What closes
the gap, bnngs all these men together, and gives them so
receptive an audience among ultra-conservatives through-
out the land is their common antipathy, strong to the

IN THE AGE OF SOOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER

*73

point of loathing, for the New Economy and the New
Internationalism However different the roads they have
traveled in their minds and consciences, they are now
camped together in a slough of disgust for the raemoiy
and achievements of Franklin D Roosevelt

Much the largest of our three major categories contains
what we may properly call the middling conservatives
Former President Hoover and Senator Byrd are located
somewhere near one boundary of this group, former Gov-
ernor Dewey and Richard M Nixon somewhere near the
other hi the center stood — and for our purposes still
stands — the veiy model of the American conservative, the
late Senator Taft Close beside him, much closer than
many people seem to realize, stands Dwight D Eisen-
hower Oddly enough, considering the numbers, convic-
tion, and wealth of the conservative Americans, there are
few newspapers, magazines, commentators, or books
that do their cause justice Although then sentiments may
be sampled in the editorials of the Saturday Evening
Post and Life, brochures of the United States Chamber
of Commerce, writings of men like Clarence B Randall
of Inland Steel and Henry M Wnston of Brown, and some
of the more mellow of the musmgs of Robert Moses, they
have very little to say in their own behalf They seem
equally willing to nod assent to the uncompromising stric-
tures of those to their right and to the temperate judg-
ments of those to their immediate left Lacking a battery
of columnists who express their middle-of-the-road opin-
ions, stall sufficiently angry at the New Deal to take de-
light in hearing it smote hip and thigh, hardly knowing
their own moderate minds, they are as likely to applaud
Flynn as Lippmann, as willing to be instructed by Sokol-
sky as bv John K Jessup They have even let the ultra-
conservatives steal Senator Taft from their keeping The
purpose of these men seems to be to brake, but certainly
not to reverse, our movements toward welfare and regula-
tion at home and toward aid and affiance abroad They
are generally able to keep their own urges toward pou.
jadisme under control

The third kind of conservative finds his natural hakit^

174 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

on tho Atlantic seaboard and In the advance guard of the
Republicans, though he may also be found scattered
through the countiy and in the Democratic party It u
hard to say exactly what sets off liberal conservatives
from middling conservatives, but certainly their actions
and ideas seem more flexible, thoughtful, and chan table
than those of other men on tho Right They are less in-
clined to weep tears over the last two decades and more
inclined to recognize professors and union leaders as use-
ful fellow citizens, less concerned to balance the budget
and more concerned to stimulate economic growth. They
have taken up the burdens of the New Economy and the
New Internationalism with no apparent reluctance, and
often with considerable enthusiasm In Walter Lippmann,
Arthur Larson, and August Heckscher they are blessed
with ablo publicists, in Arthur F Bums, Milton Fried-
man, and Henry C Walhch with equally able economists,
in Earl Warren, John McCloy, Paul Hoffman, Clifford
Case, Charles P Taft, John Sherman Cooper, and Nelson
Rockefeller with impressive public figures, m the great
foundations with powerful instruments for imaginative
conservatism, in the Committee for Economic Develop-
ment with an educational agency quite unique in ob-
jectivity, m Fortune, the New York Times, and the New
York Herald Tribune with organs that hold the respect
of most of the nation, and in Charles Evans Hughes and
Henry L Stimson with two saintly models of their brand
of conservatism Liberal conservatives are not uniformly
loved for their attempts to make “Tory democracy” a
vital force on the American scene To ultra-conservatives
they appear as "just another bunch of New Dealers,” to
many progressives as “the opportunists of Wall Street
and Madison Avenue”

Although any man m any one of these three major
groups may stray off the reservation on an issue hke the
recognition of Red China or the tariff or civil ngbts, it »S
possible, I am convinced, to predict specific attitudes on
current issues in four cases out of five In the area of for-
eign policy, most ultra-conservatives are ultra-nabonal-
ists, most middling conservatives are nationalists tom be-

IN THE ACE OP ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER

tween conflicting desires, most liberal conservatives are
nationalists with distinct internationalist leanings
Thus ultra-conservatives are outspokenly hostile to
the U N , would like to put an end to “squandering our
treasure abroad" (especially on the “so-called neutral
nations'), still consider the Bncker amendment (to cut
down the President’s power over treaties and executive
agreements) “a matter of life and death for the Repub-
lic,” and want as little as possible to do with “godless
Russia * Middling conservatives are uneasy about the
U N but think there is no choice but to stay in, would
like to reduce foreign spending sharply, would not be
averse to the passage of a diluted version of the Bncker
amendment, and are prepared to deal at arm’s length
with the Russians Liberal conservatives support the U N
with scarcely abated enthusiasm, are prepared to mam-
tarn a high level of foreign spending, hope that the Bncker
amendment (that “dangerous innovation”) js dead and
buried, and are ready to go again and again to the Summit
to test the latest intentions of the Russians Lest we pas*
by a memorable issue that is dead, if not exactly buned
and the memorable demagogue with whom it died, of
Senator McCarthy the ultra-conservative said proudly,
“That’s my boy!,” the middling conservative uneasily*
"Joe is a little rough, but he gets results,” the hbtraj
conservative queasily, “He’s a disgrace to American de-
mocracy and a disaster to American prestige ”

In the area of domestic policy, ultra-conservatives
only oppose any further social legislation but call for the
scrapping of many agencies and programs, especially
those that do them no specific service Middling eonserva.
hves will consider social legislation that others propose
and though they are likely to react as angrily as ever at
any mention of the New Deal, they seem entirely wilW
to leave the New Deal agencies in operation Liber a j
conservatives make counterproposals to the promises 0 f
the Left and accept the new dimensions m government
with little rancor or regret Some^of them^have beejj
known to say kind words for the purposes if not the
"methods” of Mr Roosevelt

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

176

Thus ultra-conservatives are ready, at least by their
own testimony, to dissolve TVA, reduce the scope and
generosity of Social Security, walk around (or deny the
existence of) the problem of civil rights, laugh off the
problem of economic growth, and fight any proposal to
improve the nation’s health as “socialized medicine" An
astounding number of them are eager to repeal or delimit
the Sixteenth Amendment and return, no matter what
tho cost, to the Gold Standard. Middling conservative*
are willing to tolerate T V A. while cutting it* appropna-
bons, leave Social Security untouched except for "more
businesslike methods of operation," consider gingerly—
and only under immense pohbcal pressure — a toothless
bill for improving civil rights, study if not act decisively
upon the problem of economic growth, and let the dead
dog of “socialized medicine" he dead in the street They,
too, would like lower taxes and harder money but do not
favor schemes to return our tax structure and monetary
policy to the permissive patterns of happier days Liberal
conservatives are prepared to defend T V A , expand the
coverage of Social Security, enact civil-rights legislation
with at least a few teeth, tale prudent steps to speed up
the rate of economic growth, and sponsor bills that en-
courage voluntary health-insurance programs or sustain
the medical schools Proposals to repeal or amend the
Sixteenth Amendment and return to the Gold Standard
they regard as irresponsible pipe dreams

Many of this third group feel closer to moderates of
the Left than to ultxa-conservabveS of the Right They
have reason to deny that they are on the Right at all. The
ultra-conservatives, who brand them scornfully as "roe-
tooers " are happy to hear them deny it The issue of
segregation m the public schools of the South is driving
these two groups even farther apart Ultra-conservatives
in the North have been surprisingly quick to come to
the defense of Senator Eastland’s way of life, surprisingly
savage in their attacks on Chief Justice Warren’s Court.
Liberal conservatives find the antics of the white South
increasingly hard to tolerate

IN THE ACE OF ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER 177

Which of these major groups, we are now bound to ask,
has the most plausible claim to identification as the hard
core of American conservatism? The answer to this ques-
tion can be found in the answer to a more searching ques-
tion to what extent does each fulfil the histone conserva-
tive mission? Which, for example, is most successful in
defending our established order? Which contributes most
effectively to the spirit of unity among Americans? Which
does most to steady the onward course of a progressive
nation? A process of elimination points inexorably, in my
opinion, to the middling group, to the Taft-Eisenhower
conservatives

The ultra-conservatives, despite their deeply conserva-
tive urges, must be counted out of this particular search,
for most of them have fallen unwitting prey to two fad-
ings against which conservatives must be constantly on
guard first, an inability to accept gracefully social and
economic changes that have been firmly established in a
successful way of life, especially changes in which mil-
lions of their fellow citizens have a sizable stake, second,
a weakness for arguments and methods that unravel the
bonds of social unity

On the first count, ultra-conservatives must be adjudged
reactionaries, for m their indignation over the trends of
the past quarter-century they are seeking purposefully to
roll back the social process to 1948 or 1932 or even, if
we can believe what some of them say, to 1896 On the
second count, they must be adjudged radicals However
pure their motives and sound their purposes, they are
dabbling dangerously in a form of radicalism in their
mama for amending the Constitution, their reckless as-
saults on the Presidency and Supreme Court, their wistful
plans for a new party, their contempt for the whole struc-
ture of social-welfare legislation, their cavalier attitude
toward freedom of dissent, and their careless cult of ex-
treme individualism Men who engage in this sort of po-
litical immoderation cannot be classed as genuine con-
servatives Whatever else it was, McCarthyism was not
conservatism, and ultra-conservatives, by their own proud
admission, were the most loyal soldiers in McCarthy’s

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

*78

ranks The demagoguery of the Right is no more akin to
upright conservatism than the demagoguery of tho Left
is to decent liberalism, and too many ultra-conservatives
have shown themselves much too willing to forgive, to
encourage, and often even to practice the disruptive arts
of pseudo-conservative extremism

It might repay us to pause for a moment to look upon
the most outspoken of ultra-conservatives, William F
Buckley, jr, for the thrust of his intense convictions lays
bare in starkest form the crucial dilemma of modem
Amencan conservatism That thrust, which is on exhibi-
tion in three amazing books and bi-weekly in the National
Review , is directed vigorously against the New Ortho-
doxy that has grown up all about us In the last several
generations, and Buckley is so explicitly critical about
what he believes to be the sinister elements m this ortho-
doxy that he finds himself at odds with much of American
society Since he is equally (and indeed refreshingly)
explicit about the elements in his own and, as he thinks,
traditionally Amencan orthodoxy, the dimensions of this
conflict are easily grasped In his wntings he sets up a
senes of stnet dichotomies— collectiv ism and individual-
ism, centralization and states nghts. Presidential leader-
ship and Congressional supremacy, populism and elitism,
secularism and pietism, moral relativism and moral abso-
lutism, secunty and liberty, mass culture and the genteel
tradition, internationalism and isolationism, scientism and
scholasticism, progressive education and old-fashioned
P a g°gy, democracy and republicanism, “softness" on
ommunism and “hard” an b- Communism, above all "Lib-
eralism and Conservatism”— and he leaves no doubt that
e first item m each of these conflicting pairs is a curse
mat must be rooted out of Amencan existence, the second
the tool with which to do the rooting It is not, let it be
noted the collectivism or the centralization or the mass cul-
ol the future that he detests so vigorously, but the evi-
enees of these trends and conditions that have been part
ol our lives for years It is not the radical liberals” like
senator Humphrey and Walter Reuther, the paladins of
reform, who rouse him to real anger, but the conserva-

IN THE ACE OF ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER 179

bve "liberals' like Dwight D Eisenhower and Richard
Nixon, the preachers of unity at the price of principle
In fairness to Buckley, I must insist that the logic of his
ideas cannot be fully understood except by those who
read him for themselves These few paragraphs are in no
sense to be taken as an attempt to present those ideas fully
or even equitably They are, rather simply, an attempt
to point out the unsettling fact that a large wing o m -
em American conservatism, of which Buckley is e
most eloquent and persistent voice, is not at all content
to be simply and intuitively “conservative, that it has
made no peace with the apparently well-established de-
velopments of the past half-century, and that its settled
aim seems to be to restore a past rather than to conserve
a present— with which, in truth, it is not one bit happier
than all but the most truculent American radicals This
fact of untable dissatisfaction with the American way of
life presents a dilemma to the ultra-conservatives them-
selves, to the m.ddl.ng conservatives who seel only p^ce

and older, and indeed to all who are engag m e gr

Amencan debate The -conservabsm" of BucUey and ha
friends has become too angry, restoraboms *
were, rnrionnl to be ,odged and heated as an ythin g but
"radicalism of the Right.* It a, one of its
fas desenbed rt adtmrmgly, lively with the lof levo-
lobon -and dins no km to the consenatam of Bnrle
or Adams or ' Webster «««» * ^ for ^

A somewhat better ease oa
bony of the conservabsm of roIlEdmdy „

many of whom can quote ® d , 0 pt „ucal sense a

To^ Hot to be = ° and not ,ust thrnk

man must behave like a cons' ^ „ , 0 beyond
and speak him one There a ^ ccoaoaae , dorms

which a man can pushfcn^ u ^..dered a con-
only by surrendering CUIonJ Case should

serauve A liberal If conseratism for

he sainted respectfully ^oernt Amenca of
ha important rolo tn rem 5 oI hutory, but

the frailty of human kli ,tcpr into the futum

he is much too willing to i

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

1S0

to bo called a conservative in practical politics. So, too,
u a moderate Democrat liko Adlai Stevenson 1 do not
think that we aro playing with words when wo say that
most men in this category aro conservative liberals rather
than liberal conscrvativ cs, II they arc, as some of them
have asserted m their search lor self-identity, "Tory demo-
crats, Amcncan-st) Ic," they aro so much more clearly
democrats than Tones in mood and purpose that we axe
bound to banish many of them, politely to be sure, be-
yond the palo of American conservatism. While the ultra-
conservatives may bo unadjusted to the new order of
Franklin D Roosevelt, the liberal conservatives aro much
too well adjusted

In the end it seems clear, the middling conservatives
have come closest of all to a position of practical conserva-
tism that bears some relation to the compelling conditions
of Amcncau life Tho policies of Eisenhower and Taft,
and of those who carry on their work, havo been and re-
mam profoundly conservative in purpose, for they am
aimed squarely at preserving a successful way of life,
conservative in method, for they steer a prudent course
between too much progress, which throws us into turmoil,
and too little, which is an impossiblo state for Americans
to endure, and conservative in influence, for they honor
the highest mission of conservatism — to foster the spirit
of unity among men of all classes and callings By accept-
ing the burdens of tho New Economy and the New In-
ternationalism — without at tho same time reveling m
them and shouting for more — the middling conservatives,
muddled though their thoughts and their attempts at self-
description may often be, have proved themselves to be
neither reactionaries nor liberals They, of all men, are
camped most comfortably in that section of the American
political arena reserved for conservatives Ultra-conserva-
tives and radicals would seem to agree that they are
camped much too comfortably It is hard to think of a
single judgment about America today in which Buckley
and C Wright Mills would join unreservedly— except
that this sector (often described as “the middle of the

IN THE AGE OF ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER l8l

road”) is paved with complacency This is a judgment
with which it is hard to disagree

We must not, I repeat, put too much trust in the pre-
cision of these categories, nor be too cavalier in placing
Americans in one or another of them Yet I must confess to
have been struck forcibly in my own dealings with the men
of the Right and Center at the way in which they seem to
divide on all kinds of issues into “maladjusted,” “un-
adjusted,” “adjusted," and "over-adjusted” conservatives
It is not just their positions on the political problems we
have mentioned, and on other persistent problems like
states rights and labor legislation, that help to spot them
It is also their reactions to social and cultural affairs — to
new trends in art, music, poetry, and architecture, to
the social-welfare activities of churches, above all to the
methods and purposes of American education The man
who bursts into flames at the name of Franklin D Roose-
velt will also bum at the names (if he recognizes them at
all) of Jackson Pollock, Aaron Copland, e e cummings,
Frank Lloyd Wnght, G Bromley Oxnam, and John
Dewey

We must also not be too upset if some of the men and
women we have sought to pm down wriggle free of our
grasp 1 have tned, in effect, to prove that Senator Salton-
stall is a more genuine conservative than either Senator
Goldwater to his right or Senator Case to his left, but I
would be the last to deny the freedom of both these esti-
mable gentlemen to dispute the issue And what is true
of them must be true of all who think the way they do
One of the few uneroded rights of modem Americans is
to call themselves whatever they wish

One group of Americans remains to be accounted for
the “mactionanes” of whom C Wright Mills has written
not without hyperbole, in his White Collar These are the
people of the new middle classes — and there may well be
millions of them — who are “politically alienated” They
are neither conservative, radical, nor liberal, they are, m
Mills’s phrase, "out of it,” becauso of mass indifference
and bureaucratized politics While this Is not the place to
discuss the White Collar thesis, it should he recalled

l8z CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

that indifference, ignorance, and inaction are ingredients
of a prevalent type of practical conservatism, that there
can ba a “ lumpen bourgeoisie” as well as a “lumpen pro*
letanat” It seems certain that at present the millions of
Americans who live a-pohtical lives are more likely to
react favorably, if they react at all, to the slogans and sym-
bols of the conservative Right than to those of the liberal
Left

We come now to the most critical task of this entire study
to state, with maximum accuracy and minimum aspersion,
the political principles of modem American conservatism
The principles 1 shall desenbe are those that animate the
middle group of conservatives Specifically, they are the
best thoughts of the late Senator Taft, surely the key
figure of the modem Right, and of Presidents Eisenhower
and Hoover To most of these both ultra-conservatives
and liberal conservatives would agree, differing from one
another and from the middle group on such points as the
role of government and the sanctity of private property
Their differences in political thought are largely differ-
ences m emphasis

With the exception of a few professors and publicists,
who are looked upon with suspicion for their pains, the
men on the Right are not given to hard thinking about
man, society, and government Many times I have asked
an able, articulate man of affairs in the ranks of middling
conservatism to state his opinions on liberty or equality
or natural law, and have been turned aside by a slogan,
a truism, or a frank confession of ignorance or indifference
enator Taft himself, when pressed for a statement of his
philosophy, is said to have replied “There are some ques-
tions that I haven’t thought very much about" The pnn-
cip es of American conservatism are not thoughts or re-
ecbons or hypotheses, they are assumptions, prejudices,
myths, vague longings, and slogans Modem American
conservatism has no Burke or Adams, I have heard its
enhes argue cogently that it has no philosophy I say all
s as a truth I have come to reluctantly, not as a libel
that I was anxious to prove from the start

IN THE AGE OP ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER 183

The contemporary Right remains remarkably steadfast
in its devotion to laissez-faire conservatism The Indian
summer that set in with the American Liberty League has
still some distance to iiin If the faith of the Right is some-
what less laissez-faire and somewhat more conservative
than that proclaimed by Sumner, Carnegie, and Field, it
has nevertheless changed sujpnsmgly little m tins chang-
ing world While the position of men like Taft, Hoover,
and Eisenhower on the American political spectrum may
certainly be labeled “conservative,” they defend this
position largely with the bright words of liberalism
President Hoover is not to be laughed at for his dogged
insistence that he is a “true Liberal," nor President Eisen-
however for having proclaimed himself “basically a pro-
gressive ” Liberalism and progressivisun are built into the
tradition these eminent men are bent on conserving, and
in this country, I repeat, a man may still describe himself
as he sees fit Whatever the label on the package, these
are the contents

The conservative view of man is expressed in a con
fusion of slogans, of which about two thirds are traceable
to Jefferson and one third to Adams On one hand, there
is still much talk of men who are basically good, decent,
trustworthy, and rational, and who may improve them-
selves and their natures almost without limit if properly
educated and exhorted On the other, there is a deep-
rooted assumption, announced publicly only by the most
fearless or truculent conservatives, that weakness, lazi-
ness, cruelty, and wickedness may be found in all men to
some degree and in many men to a decisive degree
Further, human nature is "pretty much the same every-
where” and is “never going to be changed by law *
Americans are better than other men because they live In
a happier environment, but even under the most favor-
able conditions the dolt, the criminal, and the ne’er-do-
well will be found in distressing numbers While the im-
provement of a man’s character is a long, hard process, he
may be CGmipted and degraded in the twinkling of an
eye

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

The conservative mind is also at odds with itself over
the hey question of big democracy that of the ordinary
man s capacity for sound political decisions Conservatives
love to extol the “infinite wisdom of the plain people of
this country” but nine times out of ten this comes as a
sort of conditioned response to an assertion of special
knowledge or expert judgment by a public figure on the
Left I am inclined to agree with Duncan Norton-Taylor s
observation that Senator Taft was "instinctively pessimis-
tic about people m the mass,” and thus to assert that most
leading conservatives are skeptical about the political
widom and rationality of the average American
On several points, however, there is little disagreement
among conservatives With President Eisenhower they
believe that “the nerve and fiber” of our way of life is a
sovereign faith in the freedom and dignity of the
individual, thus maintaining then- strong bias toward in-
dividualism With Senator Taft they believe that ‘the
whole history of America reveals a system based on in-
lvidual opportunity, individual initiative, individual
reedom to earn one’s living in one’s own way," thus
maintaining their peculiar interest in the economic aspects
o doctrine The old virtues of industry and frugality
ve never ranked so high in conservabv e favor, and self-
reliance in the pracbce of these virtues is sbll held to be
e one sure road to individual freedom and nabonal well-
mg ew conservatives would quesbon Leonard Read’s
assertion that responsibility for one’s self is the most im-
portant possession of man " And although Read, like most
conservabves is strong for “the kindly virtues in human
ons such as tolerance, charity, good sportsmanship
• mutual trust, voluntary co-operabon, and jusbce,”
^ 2 . e eve *' a g ain hke most conservabves, that prog-

U e r€su *t of intense compebbon among acquisibve
and ambitious men “Hardship and struggle” continue to
.v ^ an important part in the American conservabve's
ineo'y of human relabons Whether he is a "good sport”
81 Shter, the ideal man in conservahve doctrine
mains upright, self-reliant, and industrious An mcteas-
g number of conservabves are coming to suspect that

m THE AGE OF ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER 185

many of their fellow citizens are not now and never can
be tins kind of man

The modem Rightist, like his grandfather, is all m favor
of equality, but he, too, defines equality in his own way.
When he uses this word, he means equality of opportu-
nity that spurs the march of progress by inviting each man
to rise to the level of his energies and abilities, not equal-
ity of position and possession enforced against nature's
will by a meddling government In short, the conservative
continues to justify the inequalities all about him, and also
to fight attempts to reduce them, with the Liberal ideal
of equality

Now, smce men are sharply unequal, according to Sen-
ator Taft, in “mental power," "character," and "energy,"

they will— under the equal protection of the laws nse

to sharply unequal levels of power and property That
these "levels" are in fact "classes" is an almost universal
conservative assumption I say "assumption" because few
conservatives are so "un-American" as to dtly the un-
spoiled Liberal tradition by talking of class and status
Raymond Moley, for instance, insists that “the principle
of a classless society dominates the mind and spirit of the
American nation " It is more likely that what dominates
the mind and spirit of the nation, especially of its conserv-
ative half, is the principle of a casteless, not classless so-
ciety Let me repeat and embellish what we learned m
Chapter III the concept of class, American style, h e ,
deep in the conservative’s mind and shapes far more of
his social outlook and political practice than he is generally
prepared to admit For example, a basic assumption of
current conservative thinking is that there is something
big and wonderful and enduring called the middle clay *
in whose keeping rests the future of the Republic ’

I have searched the spoken and written opinions of tf,
contemporary Right for clear-cut statements of the ne J
for an aristocracy and have been struck by the
of the few I have been able to collect Although con*
h ves like to say that the "best men should occu p
seats of economic and political power, they are vap,, 6
about the qualities such men should possess, th e

i86

CON SER VAT ISM IN AMERICA

and discretion they should wield, or the privileges they
should enjoy as their reward. The conservative is still the
willing prisoner of the American tradition, he cannot
bnng himself to speak out boldly and consistently for a
ruling, guiding, serving aristocracy, even of the “natural”
variety. Nothing so candid and useful os tbo Gospel of
Wealth enjoys a hold on the present majority of conserva-
tive Americans, and tho doctrine of noblesse oblige is
something for a Taft and Saltonstall, or Roosevelt and
5teycn$on a t0 honor in practice but not to justify in theory
Liberty remains tho favonto topic of conservative
orators and focal point of conservative dunking For the
most part, the modem conservative defends it in tho spirit
ot laissez-faire conservatism, but with these interesting
shifts in approach or emphasis

Fmt, ho define, tberty ciu J us „ely di economic
er ™ se€m * more concerned than his grandfather
"nth tho freedoms of speech, press, and worship, the right
o» free elections, and the great judicial safeguards At
e same time, he condemns the campaign to raise those
new ng ts which the stato may be persuaded to under-
e same kvcl of sanctity as those eternal nghti

« i , su " u b ° m,d •» "»A

e 1 es * to say about property and practically noth-
g a out contract Too much concern with the former is
apparen y considered bad form and worse politics, and
* ^ soa aI reform and constitutional law has
a r,V . e ^ tter a dead issue. Raymond Molcy is not
. , aS j C | t . t * ,at P ro perty is a distinct nght ranking
_ rn , 6 and Lb «rty, nor was Arthur Ballon tine to justify
Lf? 85 man „ S c}uef defense agamst the all-embracing
hv<* at I Ono ma y even come upon a conserva-

h r d ; blt , ten as J ud S« Arthur C Shepard of Cah-

n 5 ? bai , 1,115 to sa 7 » Atbonlco Aladna Irri-
gation District (1951)

diff^ ate ? 1 / n,S tbat P erson al rights axe supenor to or
sonlwL r0n ! P ro P ert y rights are so much rhetorical

* P e ' e S"'“ t, “ ° f

IN THE ACE OF ROOSEVEET AND EISENHOWER

187

The average conservative, however, prefers to merge
the defense of property and of other economic rights
with that of all the great liberties By asserting his belief
in the "indivisibility of man’s many freedoms,” he bnngs
free elections to the support of property and free speech
to the support of free enterprise General Eisenhower
expressed this belief m a celebrated speech to the Ameri-
can Bar Association m 1949

All our freedoms — personal, economic, social, po-
litical — freedom to buy, to work, to hire, to bargain,
to save, to vote, to worship, to gather m a convention
or join in mutual association, all these freedoms are
a single bundle Each is an indispensable part of a
single whole Destruction of any inevitably leads to
the destruction of alL

This notion — the “bundle of freedoms” — is increasingly
popular among conservative orators It should be noted
that most sticks m the bundle appear to be economic in
character

Third, he talks more of his nghts as a legacy from gen-
erations of patriots than as a gift of Cod or nature In the
blunt words of Senator Byrd

We should always remember that human freedom
is not a gift to man, it is an achievement by man
. . gamed by vigilance and struggle

He is inclined — and in this inclination appears more
truly conservative — to assert with Russell Clinchy “Re-
sponsibility and freedom are the reverse sides of the same
coin Neither can exist independently of the other" For
example, the thoughtful conservative is likely to greet
broad assertions of academic freedom with pointed ques-
tions about academic responsibility.

Finally, he has given some ground under the pressures
of the age of anxiety and now admits that government
can act positively m defense and elaboration of "the great-
est of all rights— -the right to equal opportunity " While
he still denies, except perhaps when running for office in
an industrial state, that there is such a thing as the right
to a job," ho will acknowledge, unless he is a totally uq.

i88

CONSERVATISM OT AMERICA

reconstructed individualist, the truth of this assertion of
Senator Flanders “The man out of work has the right
to expect that all responsible elements of society, and
particularly the government, will use all appropriate and
effective means to assist his own best efforts in finding
productive and profitable work.” Yet if this man can ex-
pect society to find him work, society can expect him to
do it diligently and productively

If liberty is the conservative’s delight, security is his
despair The good works of the New Deal and rosy prom-
ises of the Fair Deal have brought an unreasoning dislike
of security into conservative thinking While liberal
conservatives seek manfully to understand the conditions
and motives that impel the "quest for security ,” most men
on the Right regard the quest as a mania that threatens
to subvert our tradition of personal freedom and respon-
sibility The substance of their inner convictions on this
explosive question is caught in three quotations The
first, from the bps of Dwight D Eisenhower, is the angry
cry of “the old-fashioned American" who finds himself
among his own kind and bursts out almost without think-
ing

If all that Americans want is security, then they
can go to prison

The second, from the pen of Vannevar Bush, is the
measured warning of the hard-headed intellectual who
remembers that America is the rich payoff to a succession
of gambles

A passion for personal security is an opiate which
tends to destroy the vinle characteristics which have
made us great

The third, from the heart of Senator Taft, is the candid
conservative s formula for widespread security

If liberty prevails unimpaired, everyone who de-
serves security will have security
If liberty prevails unimpaired” — if a man can work
an sacnfice and save without the nagging intervention
ot an officious government— he will win the only kind of

m THE ACE OF ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER 189

security that is really secure- the land he wins for and by
himself Many men simply do not “deserve” security, and
no government can give it to them for any length of time
without dulling their spirits, undercutting its own sol-
vency, and looting the pockets of other men who have
sought to provide security for themselves

We may account for much of the conservative rage
against security if we recognize that security is the new
label for equality and recall that equality is the old enemy
of liberty The conservative remains true to the anti-level-
mg principles of his ancestors when he questions the pur-
poses and consequences of the welfare state Yet, ever a
Liberal American, he attacks the proposals of the new
levelers by branding them "grants of special privilege" or
‘‘designs for inequality"

While the modem conservative has moved away from
the severe anti-stabsm of Sumner and Sutherland and to-
ward the balanced attitude of Wilson and Hughes he has
moved much farther in fact than be has in theory While
he supports a whole range of government activities that
would have struck the conservative of 1900 as the rank-
est land of socialism, he continues to talk as if no good and
much evil could be expected of them Except for these
changes in mood or emphasis, the modem conservative
remains true to laissez-faire opinions of the nature and
purpose of government

His persistent anb-stahsm is expressed as hostility not
to government as such, but to '"big” government or “cen-
tralized" government or “bureaucracy" While be grudg-
ingly concedes a larger role to government, he applauda
the observation of Clarence Manion

A swelling is one of the infallible signs of a sickness
underneath, and the swelling of government in
America today merely evidences the moral sick-
ness of the people under »t Big government is for
little people The better the people, the less necessity
there is for government

He may no longer find government hopelessly incompe-
tent, inadequate, and unintelligent, but he docs insist that

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

its tendency, in contrast to that of business enterprise, is
strongly in this direction He therefore hopes that govern*
ment will be consigned to the hands of men who have
made a success in business The average conservative,
unless he is a civil servant, is not noted for his devobon
to the cause of a permanent civil service extending up-
ward to the highest ranks He still believes implicitly in
the arbitrary and corrupting nature of pohbcal power,"
and he therefore agrees with Raymond Moley that many
present uses of such power are simply "advenbbous
props that cannot abruptly be removed without danger
of disaster”

The conservabve’s fondest hope is to remove at least a
ew of these props, especially those that do not support
is owti jjosibon, and thus to reduce the "swelling of gov-
emment to manageable proportions “The conservabve
i eal, writes Moley, “should be the exercise of great
care and discrebon m imposing new forms of government
mtenenbon and also a constant effort to reduce the area
eady occupied by government” He would reduce the
regu atory acbvibes of government through “constant
vision of laws and of administrate machinery to permit
se isciphne to grow” Professor Sheldon Glueck would
re uce its welfare acbvibes by encouraging "forms of
soci insurance, m which beneficiaries are not mere pas-
lve recipients of doles but self-respecbng participants,
oug stea y personal self-denial, in schemes of mutual
proteebon against unavoidable hazards” Neither of these

« ” ^ V0U » , 0 t ^ le feast bit troubled by accusations of

ran ,r e ^’, too » are adept in the new semanbes and

nahnn^i 1 316 “progressives” anxious to put the

a t ° n *•* ro ad to the future from which the "re-

actionary New Dealers diverted ,t

he ha- COnSe t VatlVe l ustl ^ es all government acbvibes that
»v » n °u °^ e 0r mtent,Qn of dismantling by fitting
Senator T f. r ma S lc formula of equality of opportunity
can . ’, f °f exam ple, acknowledged that every Amen-
bon tn fi? ^ to the initial boost of a free pubic educa*
labon 6 CQntlnued proteebon of non-regulatory legis-
m Su PP ort of a "minimum living, ’ and to a helping

IN THE ACE OF ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER 191

hand in hme of distress or disaster Ultra-conservatives
might halt short of these modest concessions, liberal con-
servatives would certainly push farther All would agree
that the final test of any instance of government activity
is the quesbon does this law as administered increase
equably of opportunity? Although some conservahves are
troubled by the ease with which reformers turn this argu-
ment against them — for example, by insisbng that civd-
nghts legislation and federal aid to education are designed
precisely to increase equality of opportunity — most are
satisfied that it works m their behalf
The American conservabve remains fundamentally
anh-stabst in mood and philosophy He believes that the
real danger to liberty lies in abuse of polibcal authority,
that regulabon, even when plainly necessary, has a dead-
ening effect on the mibabve and energy of free men, that
the burden of proof rests completely on those who advo-
cate increased government acbvity, and that, in Professor
Glueck's words, “in many fields of human acbvity, the
sum-total of legislabve mtervenbon m the private affairs
of men may do much more social harm than good " The
conservative still does not count government — certainly
not nabonal government — as one of his blessings

His dogged distrust of government finds expression in
a constitubonal theory hardly less conservabve than that
of Field and Sutherland Although he, too, has been ear-
ned along on the new currents of consbtubonal mteipre-
tabon, he clings to a hmitabomst point of view His
conservative fear of "the tyranny of the unrestrained major-
ity" leads him to repeat the timeworn slogans of laissez-
faire constitutionalism He remains a culbst, a stnct-con-
strueborust, and an exponent of divided and balanced
government The circumstances of the past two decades
have led him to place more faith in Congress, especially
in those committees noted for obstruebon and delay, and ''
less in the Supreme Court, but in due course the latter
will reassert its bold on his affeebons The oonservabve
has been thoroughly unnerved by the Courts perform-
ance since 1937, and he will not find true peace of mind
until it is once again more conservabve than the coun-

192

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

by at large As to the Presidency, even the sight of one
of his own kind in this highest office for ejght years has
not allayed his suspicions of execubve power. The yeani-
wg for Coohdge cannot be suppressed Finally, the turn
of the wheel has presented him with another opportunity
to honor Jefferson rather than Hamilton his view of the
federal system is that of a confirmed states-nghter One of
the basic elements in what Thomas Jen Ion calls "the new
negativism” is the strong preference for local action over
state and state over national to deal with any major prob-
lem that plainly demands mtervenbon The conservahve's
dislike of government is reflected in the negativism of his
constitutional theory

The conservahve’s thinking about society has under-
gone a number of changes m the last twenty or thirty
He 1S coming to realize that there « something
called society, a grand complexity of mshtubons and re-
lationships in which men are caught up from birth to
death He is becoming more consciously conservabve
3 i? U *i lts W insbtutions family, church, neighborhood,
school, college, club, associabon, corporative and co-
operahve enterprise To church and school he is espe-
ci y devoted The former is the nursery of religious feel-
ing, which he now places alongside free enterprise in the
toundabon of liberty and democracy The latter is the
agency he counts on most heavily to inspire devobon
o inherited institutions and values The church preaches
taith in Cod, the school teaches faith in the nation, and
and nation have never seemed so important to the
conservative as m this time of hesitabon

The literature of

— contemporary conservatism is warm
W , J* ort k hke stability " “balance," “unity," “loyalty,"
A* a While the conservative has not aban-

on the laissez-faire ideal of a social order dominated
y competition among self-seeking individuals, he is more
aware than his grandfather of the limits that must be set
upon individual striving He has merged his old belief
“dmdualism with his new concern for social
n r U ,_.^ has produced an alloy that he calls “free co-
pe on No one has expressed the notion of co-opera-

IN THE AGE OF ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER

»93

hve individualism more enthusiastically than former Presi-
dent Eisenhower, who has stated and restated his con-
viction that the “freedom to compete vigorously among
ourselves” must be balanced by “a readiness to cooperate
wholeheartedly for the performance of community and
national functions ” It is characteristic of the conservative
that he seeks support for his theory in a new reading of
American history Our glorious past, Eisenhower asserts,
has been characterized by cooperation, and not by
fighting among ourselves or refusing to see the other
fellow’s viewpoint It has been a group effort, freely
undertaken, that has produced the things of which
we are so proud and which are represented in what
we call the American way of life

America is now seen to be the positive creation of
" group effort, freely undertaken,” rather than the provi-
dential result of fierce competition among men who walk
alone "Self-reliance” and "individual effort* retain their
old popularity among the men on the Right, but "team-
work” has now been raised by Eisenhower and his fnends
to equal rank

We may now sum up the most important changes in con-
servative thinking under the strain of the last twenty or
thirty years Although the conservative mind clings to
most of the principles and slogans of 1900 or 1925, it
has been forced by the increasing complexity of our so-
ciety, the imperfections of democracy and capitalism, the
long trend toward the welfare state, and the menace of
Communism to alter its outlook in these ways

It is less individualistic With its shift m emphasis from
rugged to co-operative individualism, its increasing re*
Spcct for stability and unity, and its new devotion to
groups and institutions, the conservative mind is showing
more concern for the community than at any time smee
Adams and Calhoun No amount of loose oratory
the "free individual" can obscure this momentous trend
in American conservative thought The free individual is
no Jew prominent m conservative t hink i n g, but he jj

CONSERVATISM I

posed to use his freedom to co-operate as often as to com-
pete

It is less absolutist The “air of sanctity and finality"
that env eloped laissez-faire conservatism in the glorious
ays of McKinley or Coohdge has been blown away by
me storms of this quarter-century A conservative may
e as attached as his grandfather to the concept of a
g er law, but he is less ready to descnbe its content
an commands He is still convinced that his way of life
? s e approval of God and nature, but he is less sure
at e approval is exclusive and unequivocal His mind
searches for “the middle way," a path that Field and
Sumner would have refused to travel

t is less optimistic. Few conservatives can now be
oun who will celebrate the perfectibility of man and
certamty of progress or, like Herbert Hoover in 1928.
•n, vT*! serene 'y to "the triumph over poverty”
416 st,U used to comfort and exhort Ray-
°, n _ ° * or “ample, speaks of "a luminous destiny”
and Eric Johnston of America Unlmxted, Dr Norman^
incent eale sounds like an old record of Andrew Car-
gie as e preaches to the millions the gospel of his “cult
ta i^ eaSSUr . an , ce ^ et the mood of most conservatives, cer-
.1 ^ mC , U Mo,e y- ,s one grun confidence rather

is f CXU eran ^ anticipation Though the conservative
••.J S _ as much an American as ever and expects that
a coif S W1 t, COni f ° ut r ‘S ht m the end,” he is also more
be fuK^tfak® CVer 3nd eXpeC,S ^ r ° ad S>he * d t0
at m ° re ^ adltl0 nalist There is, as we have noted,
future ^ k ° f Amenca ’ s heritage as of America's

our e coronals, orations, and articles that express

doirm and the articulate conservative is

Mi'll" 8 H “ "T* “

; ^ rsmnas;

" “ "°f e P ! ot 0 * founding fathers As . insult, hr. r»-
“ver been keener, hi- m-
ue'er more a ° W “ ° f U “ t 1 “'° ,y

IN THE ACE Or ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER 395

It is less mate nalis tic Again we must note carefully
that the conservative has only amended not discarded,
his grandfather’s principles and habits of thought He
still speaks with extra warmth of economic nghts, still in-
sists that democracy cannot exist apart from the eco-
nomic system he calls free enterprise, stall measures the
greatness of his counhy and its superiority over other
countries chiefly m terms of automobiles, telephones,
bathtubs, food consumption, and color television Yet he
is beginning to show more mterest in political rights and
more respect for religion, he is occasionally heard to won-
der if there are not other things that make a nation truly
great besides a high standard of living Although he is far
from achieving a healthy adjustment among things ma-
terial, moral, and cultural, his thinking about man and
government has a less materialistic bias than that of the
laissez-faire conservative of 1900 If he is a slight bit less
moralistic than his grandfather, he injects more ethics
into his moralizing about freedom and jts uses

Finally, it is more consciously and outspokenly con-
servati\e in principle and purpose Millions of "old-fash-
ioned liberals” are emerging at last in the drab but honest
colors of self-respecting conservatism, and their mere use
of the word has given them new heart for the fight against
their enemies on the Left. If there are those like Her-
bert Hoover, Heniy M Wtiston, and Felix Morley who
insist that they are “true Liberals,” there are also those
like Senator Byrd, Frank Kent, and Robert Moses who
are proud to call themselves conservatives Even Mr.
Eisenhower has told us not to be afraid of the word “con-
servative,'’ although hhe many of his admirers, including
his still Io\aI lieutenant Richard Nixon, he insists on
softening the impact with an adjective like "progressive”
or “moderate” or "dynamic”

Persuasive evidence that "the tyranny of Liberalism”
is relaxing may be found m “The Faith of The Freeman,
proclaimed by the editors of this ultra-con serv a Uv e maga-
zine w their first issue

In terms of current labels. The Freeman will be at
once radical, Abend, conservative and reactionary

ig6 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

It will be radical because it will go to the T0 ° t
questions It will be liberal because it will stand iot
the maximum of individual bberty - ^

conservative because it believes in conserving tne
great constructive achievements of the past. And it
will be reactionary if that means reacting against
ignorant and reckless efforts to destroy precisely what
is most precious m our great economic, political and
cultural hentage in the name of alleged “progress
I must confess that when I came across this statement,
I considered throwing my notes to the wind and taking
up botany, a science whose practitioners have come to
some agreement on terminology

It would be fitting, surely, to end this scrutiny of the
modem Right with a few words from each of the three
men who are considered its most distinguished figures
Senator Taft

There can be no doubt that the problems we face
today are new problems Whether they can be
solved by the application of old principles is th 0
mam question before the people today
President Eisenhower

Every right-thinking American today is more con-
cerned with the perpetuation of the fundamentals of
the system that has made this country great than
with any other single purpose
President Hoover

A splendid storehouse of integrity and freedom
has been bequeathed to us by our forefathers In
this day of confusion, of peril to liberty, our high
duty is to see that this storehouse is not robbed of its
contents

Whether they will acknowledge it or not, these men
and their followers are American conservatives in every
important sense of die word That stall does not make
them Conservatives.

VII

THE CONSERVATIVE
MINORITY

O R

With Edmund Burke
in Darkest America

We come now to answer the bard question that we have
been putting off all through this study how Conservative
is American conservatism? What place do the ideas we
associate with Edmund Buike seem to have in the work-
ing philosophy of the American Right?

The preceding chapters ought to have proved fairly
conclusively that American conservatism has never been
the prisoner of English or European Conservatism Even
at the beginning of our experiment in independence, in
the jears between Washington and John Quincy Adams,
the intellectual kinship of the Right with that of any other
country, even of England, was far from close In this re-
gard, the reader is begged to go back to the last para-
graph of Chapter IV What was said there about the cir-
cumstances under which the Right has flourished in this
country should be said again with fresh emphasis Ameri-
can conservatism never had the need or opportunity to
be as gloomy, apprehensive, elitist, anti-progressive, or

198

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

anti-Liberal as European Conservatism For all his blunt
talk about aristocracy and inequality, John Adams was
John Adams of New England, not Edmund Buihe of Old
ngland And since the beginning of our expenment in
political and social democracy, which most historians
would put between 1820 and 1840, the gap between the
American and European Rights has been so wide as to cut
® ,, : ran * ar *d intimate communication between them
e our conservatives have occasionally gone abroad
search of philosophical support, they have gone to

nd C e 0 ” an<1 Ad3m Sm,th rather than to Burke and Cole *

e American Right, bke Amcnea, has indeed been
1 ercnt, jet not so different that its reactions to reform
avc rne no resemblance to those of conservatives in
er countries Our examination of American conscrva-
m as revealed many assumptions and opinions that it
arcs with Conservatives in Bntam and other countries
mn “ S n , ow C0I i n P a re the political philosophy of American
conservatism— by which I mean the modified Iaisscz-
Hoover * Taft > and Eisenhower —
1 . a 0 c ^ Conservative tradition as proclaimed,
* Sa ^' . SUcfl Quls *anding latter-day disciples of
« C as f r Wailsham in England and Russell Kirk in
»nm nC3 We our attention on substance rather than
r unc, crl> irig principles rather than politically
looks bke this 1 * 15 ' comc U P with a balance sheet that

Co,wcrta,,Jm uhtch the Amcrtcan
cc-ncTtatn.e seems to agree

!r ?XV\° n 'y ° f l» equably,

the 1 ^ 3nd P° tentla l tjTanny of majority rule,
older. P'opony <•>, liberty.

- - - -

*• “S'"*- i -"' to>

the mued and immutable nature of man (he finds con-

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

I99

siderably more good in the mixture and is less convinced
of the immutability),

the natural inequality of men (he holds this deep-rooted
belief apologetically, and expresses it as part of his for-
mula for "equality of opportunity”) ,
the inevitability and necessity of social classes (his main
criterion is economic achievement rather than birth, mili-
tary prowess, public service, learning, or manners, and
the object of his affection is the middle class),
the desirability of diffusing power (while he empha-
sizes the diffusion of political power, he tends to ignore
the applicability of this principle to society, economy,
and culture) ,

the rights of man as something earned rather than
given (captive of the democratic dogma, he still ap-
proaches the problem of human nghts m the spirit of
Jefferson rather than of Calhoun),
the balancing of nghts and duties, of freedom and
responsibility (until recently he has been too enchanted
with liberty to notice its high pnce),

the importance of inherited institutions, values, sym-
bols, and ntuals (he has not had as many of these as he
might have wished, and his feeling for those he has is not
as reverent as it might be),

the conserv ative mission of education (he wants his
children to be inculcated with virtue and tradition, but
he also wants them “sprung loose” to take an active part
in the American drive toward the future),

the existence of immutable principles of justice and
morality (he seems to put more emphasis on what must
always be rather than what should, and finds most of his
"laws of nature" to be operative only m the economic
sphere) ,

a government whose marls are dignity, authority, legit-
imacy, justice, constitutionalism, hierarchy, and the rec-
ognition of limits (he has a characteristically American
distrust of authority, even when exercised by a govern-
ment that displays the other marls prominently, and cer-
tainly he hndles at the notion of hierarchy)

Principle about tchich he it hopelessly confused:

200

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

the need for a ruling and serving aristocracy
Principles about which he is serenely unconcerned
the mystery, grandeur, and tragedy of history,
the necessity of conservatism '

Principles with which he substantially disagrees
^ fbe uncertainty of progress (he talks occasionally of
the decline of the American republic," but only for rhe-
torical purposes),

the fallibility and limited reach of human reason (hiS
faith in reason is not perfect, yet he makes considerable
room for it in his philosophy),
reverence, contentment, prudence, patriotism, self*
' SC *P me ’ aud the performance of duty as marks of the
goo man (he would regard three of these as admirable,
o as evidences of weakness, and one as largely irrele-
vant, while adding a few of his own like danng and
energy),

order, unity, equity, stability, continuity, security,
armony, and the confinement of change as marks of the
5 ° “ c,ety wants his society to exhibit most of these
c aractensbcs, but first of all he wants it to be open, fluid,
competitive, and progressive)

agrees^ which, so he says, he completely dts-

»f 4o commmit y

° ™ enca, J conservative shies away from Conserva-
fnr n r> CSe a< ^ t ^ t,ona l counts he has no special feeling
n u erVa t ,Ve *»d,twn, for much of h.s country’s
hnnc^M Gen actet * out in defiance of its key assump-
murh in ° eS n0t S ^ are t ^ le Conservative mood, for he is
in ttiP , oa §S ressi ve and irreverent, and ainly deficient
Concpn/Hf ocratlc s P lnt He has no developed sense of the
a Z? nU , SS,0n ’ for he has been too much a part of
nractir'a? n ^n 0IT ^ er although his mmd-in -action is
seems em P inca l, it is he, not the Conservative, who

Of life an (j 1 thought^ ^ quaLbeS mto 311 entue Way
S ^ ee * 1S incomplete We must now
with «“™ mosaic ” °f Conservatism side by side
an she complexity” of American conserva-

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

201

bsm and compare them in terms of general impressions
rather than particular details If we do this with rigorous
honesty, we find that their final differences in mood and
philosophy are three m number first, American conserva-
tism is clearly more optimistic — about the nature of
man, the uses of reason, the possibilities of progress, and
the prospects for democracy Second, it is clearly more
materialistic The orientation of its political theory is to
economics rather than ethics or even politics, and its feel-
ing for religion, history, and higher law is cheapened by
the assumption that these mighty forces reserve their
special blessings for the American economy It is happily
at home in the modem world and worries hardly at all
about the ways of life and thought that industrialism has
weakened or wiped out Finally, American conservatism
is clearly more individualistic In rejecting the primacy
of society, in underrating the capacity of government to
do good, in passing lightly ov« r groups and institutions
that serve as buffers between man and political authority,
it has pushed the precious concept of the free individual
to an extreme position that no genuine Conservative can
occupy with peace of mind The notion of society as a
mass of struggling individuals who must root or die — ail
on their own — has no place in the Conservative tradi-
tion While the contemporary Right is turning away
slowly from the exaggerated optimism, mat< nalism, and
individualism of the full season of laissez-faire conserva-
tism, it has “miles to go before it sleeps” in the plain bed
of Conservatism

The reason the American Right is not Conservative today
is that it has not been Conservative for more than a hun-
dred years The reason it first abandoned Conservatism,
even the characteristically American version proclaimed
by John Adams, may be summed in two words democ-
racy and industrialism. These great forces were, and shll
are, the active marplots of American Conservatism They
have made it difficult to be a conservative and almost
impossible to be a Conservative

Conservatism first emerged to meet the challenge of

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA
democracy In countries like England it was able to sur-
vive the nse of this new way of life by giving way a little
Rt a time under its relentless pounding, but in America
e tawnph of democracy was too sudden and complete,
t came to society as well as to politics, it came early in
>1 w ? 0Ty ® e P u ^ e and found the opposibon only

u 8 rf came with such promises of liberty and
prosperity that the opposibon deserted m droves The
resut was a disaster for genuine, old-country Conserva-
sm owhere m the world did the progressive, opbmis-
c, ega itarian mode of thinking invade so completely the
mm o an enbre people Nowhere was the Right forced
a rupty into such an untenable posibon If there is
e f l ualjt y that the Right seems always and every-
th ° CU .. tlvate ' ,l 15 unquestioning pabiobsm, and this,

. Vu 3 i * 0r unc l uestjonin g devotion to the nabon’s
J.™ long-standing merger ot "Amenca- and “de-
someth f S me . ant that *° profess Conservabsm is to be
indeed T ^ an ~ one hundred per cent American”,

thai ti, 15 ° f P lestl0n the nabon's desbny Worse than
Dolitieal 1S f a n i er ® Cr Jt aS ^ oonie ^ outspoken Conservabves to
and accent 'tl? 1116 had to renounce Conservabsm

out of 6 g £ ouru * rufes of democracy or be thrown

« we £: game f ° r dlslo >' a,t y and perversity The game,
the men nf'rt, to ° Peasant and profitable, and

"nth smashing 6 sj!^® ^ P ' a>mg ll eVer SmC<5 l84 °

and^ngumn? ^ du ' tnalisin was hardly less precipitate
sweeping a v g , w ^ ere 1,1 the world did it achieve so

a «S S °r r other " a X* ° { hfe and thought-

place its ’ miIltar T. and even political — and thus

Nowhere did S ° 6 ? n,y 111 t,le seats of S0C,aI P ower
talents Q f ,c„ f 0no P°hze so completely the uncommon
thoughts of tt " d moU 50 ‘he common

—s iuiz°z N °", h "? ^ •<» b ”“-

Right from t}le com PkteIy as the key man of the
and the statesman OWner ’ genUeman - soldier,

t-onservabsm'^it^ * n ^ us tnabsm was doubly calamitous for
m U generated the all-pervadmg climate of

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

203

materialism that made it possible for men to identify capi-
talism with democracy, it gave these men an enormous
stake in progress and bade them think and act in terms of
unlimited expansion Looked at from the long view of
history, the American capitalist, however "conservative”
his views on government, family, property, school and
church, has been the most marvelous agent of social
change the world has ever known Many men we like
to think of as models of conservative thought and purpose

Morgan, Rockefeller, Ford — were m an important sense
radicals, for their experiments in finance and technology
Worked changes in our way of life whose scope should
make the most sanguine reformer choke with admiration
The men on the Right were both the chief agents and
chief beneficiaries of industrial progress They confined
their “progressivism" to the economic sphere and assumed
that the swift pace of technology would leave old institu-
tions hke the family unbanned, and cherished values like
personal honesty uncorrupted Yet the revealing fact is
that they were burning to take this chance on industrial
expansion, The Conservative mood has always fitted our
industrialists rather ill And yet if they have not been the
paiadmS of American conservatism, what men have been?

Had the post-Civil War conservative remained Con-
servative, he might have slowed up the assault of ma-
terialism on the American mind, but his taste for Con-
servatism had already been spoiled by a generation of
double talk about liberty and equality And how, in truth,
could he have stood firm against the mighty tide that was
sweeping him to profits in business and power in politics?
Creator and creature of the climate of materialism, he
came to equate life with business, rel.gion with success,
and the moral law with the struggle for survival. The
most ingenious and disastrous of his false equations
was the merger of the Jeffersonian liberty of the >eoman
to till his soil, eat his bread, cast his vote, and worship his
God without interference from prince or priest with the
Spencerian liberty of the industrialist to amass all the
wealth and power possible this side of the written law.
One could hardly be Conservative arid go in for this sort

204

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

of tiling What we have called the "Great Train Robbery
of American intellectual history” was the work of men
who would have found Burke and Adams a pair of
“cranky old bores *

Another force working against Conservatism was the
doctrine of individualism, which was part of our thinking
before democracy and industrialism gathered new
strength and meaning from their triumph, and became in
bme the core of our political and economic traditions
Thanks to his uncritical acceptance and ruthless defense
of this doctrine, especially in its application to his own
economic freedom, the American conservative has found

it easy to achieve his short-range goals of wealth and
power but hard to spin himself a cohesive philoso-
phy In stark contrast to a central belief of Conserva-
bs j n > * e American Right has asserted the pnmacy of the
m ividual over society The binding cement of Conserva-
tive social theory is the assumption that the individual
ds peace, freedom, and fulfillment only by co-operat-
ing with his fellows ui the Tittle platoons” and submitting,
whenever necessary, to the demands of the great com-
munity Rugged individualism has not been a cement but
an exp osive charge, constantly sputtering, occasionally
going o , and thus preventing the formation of American
conservative ideas into a harmonious pattern We may
conce e all these things that our individualism was never
^58 m fact as it is in legend, that it was often little
ore an a handy weapon with which to belabor the
umsy e orts of reformers to mitigate the evils of indus-
and*th > V” ia * WaS P llc ^ et ^ primarily in economic terms,
. « co-operative rather than rugged individualism is

*, v X ^ 6 r3 ^ e Pk ,n truth remains that conserva*
* ,8 “ thlS ^sthng land has been oriented al-

covemrJ nP » et ^rL V mar< * man and away from society or
yjj. 1 Cn "While the free, dignified, inviolable indi-
thp * f SIC P° stu ^ ato of the Conservative tradition,
freedom »», t a ^ no *WgM limits on this individuals
now able t «ZS* tl " Am ' n ““ R ‘ Sht “ C eV “
" TiuS bus thng land’— there, m a phrase, is the sum of

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

205

a unique historical situation in which it has been easy for
an American to be an opportunistic Rightist, hard for him
to be a conscious conservative, and all but impossible for
him to be a dedicated Conservative The pace of our
social process, made visible m the surge of a whole conti-
nent toward democracy and industrialism, has been
simply too fast for most men of conservative temper to
be even moderately faithful in practice, and thus in
theory, to the commands of the thankless persuasion
For those willing to follow this pace there have been solid
satisfactions, for those willing to force it great nches, and
it would have been asking too much of conservatives
with normal appetites and interests to choose deliberately
to lag behind Yet even those like Morgan, Rockefeller,
and Ford who chose to force a breathless pace must neces-
sarily have shuddered over the results of their revolu-
tionary activities Even they must have been able to gaze
through the mists of power and prestige that enveloped
them to catch sight of a country quite unlike the one in
which they had been bom

Ford, in particular, stakes the eye of the historian as an
almost perfect symbol of the ambivalent position of the
American conservative No man, surely, ever did more
m fact and in example to change the face of America.
The assembly line, the five-dollar day, and above all the
inexpensive automobile joined together to destroy the
customs, tastes, manners, and practices— even the mating
habits — of one way of hfe and to put another in its place.
He was, I repeat, one of the supreme radicals of all time,
a mover and shaker worth matching with Lenin Yet he
was also, as those who knew him will testify warmly, a
supreme conservative, a man well content to honor the
values of the American past m religion, politics, social
relations, cducabon, and culture More than content, j£
the visible truth be spoken, for he was the builder of Creejj.
field Village, that astonishing accumulation of American^

— the one-room schoolhousc, the horse-drawn fire cngm e
the buckboard, the livery stable, the county- m n , tf*'
dirt road to market, the town-pump— which he did ^
than any other man to render obsolete The conbjjj ^

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

River Rouge and Greenfield Village— of Henry Ford in the
radical act of creation and Henry Ford in the nostalgic
act of re-creation — is at least a rough measurement of the
bewildering dimensions of the paradox known as Ameri-
can conservatism To live with this paradox and be a
t inking Conservative, even a practising conservative,
15 a feat to which until very recently only an occasional
eccentric American has been fully equal

e mi fiht wander indefinitely among the by-products
° em °cracy and industrialism, pointing to this arrange-
ment or that prejudice as yet another reason why the
onservative tradition has been virtually barred from
mencan ground Certainly we could linger before the
a i ion of a classless society and fact of an open-ended
js structure, the low estate of the American aristocracy
net consequent low esteem in which wc hold the ansto-
® fP 1 " 1, * e absence from the landscape of a political
P y al ca b itself conservative, the adoration we
r° n suent,st an d his science, the popular pref-
iarlv ° r ' ocatJOna I to liberal education, and the pecul-
a ly unromanfc attl tude take toward p r0 p ert y We

bon? con template the scarcity of deep-rooted insbtu-
the * r ° U "‘ I ' vIu ch conservatives can rally in defense of
, ,^' en r ,' v ®y s Obviously vve have owned too few of
manv 6 u? ghsh ^ onserva tive has owned perhaps too
itv' L,r!? S1 * ex P ressions of the timeless quest for stabil-
think an ^ ° r ^ er chose — most of us would

lished rV, 6 \ ° Ur wa y ^thout a crown or estab-

rt is ono fl ’ bUt W ® must nevertheless recognize that
other to H msbtutions like these, quite an-

understnrwf e " 3 concentrabon of property or a vaguely
bated mto ,r°n 0miC SyS,em ’ ^ ,t » transubstan-
tenal WP n \> ° oastj tution Nor do our evidences of ma-
milhon bathtub f ° rm 3 s , absfactor y substitute Eighty
hardly the firm t ** j 3 C0,0SsaI achievement, they are
Yet all *v, our *dahon of a Conservative tradibon
vabon that 15 J^ anc * enn g would only confirm an obser-
Richts rtpf- 6 , s n .° confirmabon the root causes of the
unique histoid °ti, fr ° m Con$ ervabsm lie m Amenca's
O' The size and vanety of the country, the

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

*07

abundance of natural resources, the immense force ex-
erted by currents of immigration, the immense counter-
force exerted by the frontier, the absence of feudal relics,
the omnipresence of the feeling of freedom and adven-
ture, above all the upsurge of industrialism and conse-
quent decline of agrarianism — all these factors and many
more helped create a social and intellectual soil in which
the flower of Conservatism has withered and died
America has not been a rocky field from which this flower
could take no nourishment It has been, rather, a lush
jungle m which a more adaptable group of principles —
democracy, egalitarianism, individualism — have sprouted
in easy abundance and choked off this growth except in
isolated spots The American mind has been optimistic,
materialistic, and individualistic, and the conservative
half of it has had to be these things, too The tradition
has been Liberal, and the conservative, a traditionalist, has
honored it, if only by twisting it canmly to his own ends
The society has been amazingly liberal and open, and the
conservative, perched somewhere near the top, could
hardly advocate that it be rebuilt on European lines It
may certainly be argued, and I shall argue it shortly, that
the nineteenth-century American conservative did not
have to go overboard so confidently into the fresh waters
of Liberalism, and that the twentieth-century conserva-
tive should stop splashing about happily as If the pond
were all his It would appear, however, that the former
had no choice but to repudiate, in his mind and heart as
well as in lus speech, some of the most sacred articles of
the Conservative tradition, and that the latter has had no
choice but to follow that lead The fullness of the Con-
servative tradition has been something no active member
of the American Right could possibly embrace When
the one glorious thing to be conservative about has been
the Liberal tradition of the world’s most liberal society,
how could a conservative be expected to be Conserva-
tive?

Let us concede this point to the American Right under
circumstances of life and thought on this continent, it

208

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

could not possibly have swallowed Conservatism whole
and regurgitated a political theory that was both
genuinely Conservative and characteristically American,
The persistent refusal of American conservatism to be
Conservative is not so stupid and heretical as some cnbcs
at home and abroad seem to think Even when we grant
the benefit of this doubt to American conservatism, how-

ever, we must conclude that its intellectual performance
has been and remains several cuts below that of British
Conservatism The wonderful fertility of the American
conservative nund in producing schemes for industrial
expansion has had its other side in a deplorable sterility
in producing ideas for the defense of the American way
0 i* e ’ and ^ 1S sterility has never been more evident than
i* 1 e > ears °f political resurgence under Taft and Eisen-
ower This is a fact to which many conservatives attest
as frankly as their enemies on the Left Clarence B Ran-
a , a leading spokesman for the business community,
agrees that he and his fnends "have learned how to use

eV \VV, ni0denl t0 ° l exce P t language ”

er ever one turns, one is confronted with signs of
e intellectual sterility of American conservatism the
? . lca puerility of business advertising and oratory
Whvf’r m COmiC but dlstressin g detail m Wilham H
* * An ybody Listening?), the periodic revival of
“on C >, j Herbert Spencer, the eagerness with which
e , un red P er cent Americans" have seized on the
w ‘ eci ^ s European intellectuals like Hayek and von
frivol’ C W1 “ e dissemination of so ill-tempered, ill-con-
1 , * * tract 1 as J oh « T Flynn's The Road Ahead, the
servaH ® sde nce of the great company of middling con-
Lawrrn 68 f* Wait to take their cue from David

left a r.v° tbeir n S ht or Walter Lippmann to their
thinking f unsettbn 8 fact that some of the best current
done bv ° e , SsentlaU y conservative nature is being
hold P „ cal progressives as Lippmann, Rem-

Mdi (taw,, Adkl st™™,,

stenLtv C t S!* 1 * , ® n ^ an< * oddest result) of this chronic
temixvran, e consciously political literature of the con-
^ ght, especially the angry, stereotyped, slo-

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

209

ganeenng, myth-making, black-or-wjnte speeches and
articles that ultra-conservatives bnng forth m abundance
and middling conservatives, who would know better if they
could think more clearly for themselves, devour hungrily
The immense popularity of Barry Goldwater’s The Con-
science of a Conservative, f or all its sincerity a tract of
frightening simple-mindedness, and of Norman Vincent
Peales The Power of Positive Thinking, a homily whose
fatuous view of man and history must set the teeth of any
thoughtful conservative on edge, are evidence enough of
the shabby quality of the popular literature of the Ameri-
can Fight ‘'Political debate” m America, Thurman Arnold
writes, “is in reality a series of cheers in which each side
strives to build up its own morale," and no side has more
comforting (and meaningless) cheers or more bouncy
(and untutored) cheerleaders than our conservatives
Rather than fill up these pages, and exhaust the pa-
tience of my readers, with annotated quotations from the
canonical writings of the current heroes of laissez-faire
conservatism, let me mention only one addibonal aspect
uf what Arnold has called the “folklore of capitalism" the
superabundance of myths about the American past in
this angry, abundant, and yet somehow humdrum litera-
ture of the Right History, always a favorite refuge of the
embattled conservative, has been turned into an outpost
from which to launch savage assaults on the reformers
and, for that matter, on the truth. The more angrily and
possessively conservative the man on the Right, the more
delusively out of focus are the spectacles with which he
surveys the past Since he cannot falsify the facts of his-
tory deliberately, like Big Brother and his gang in Orwell's
1984, he finds comfort in myths, the fabrication not of
one man but of alL Current favontes in conservative liter-
ature, all embodying enough grams of Historical truth to
appear as "facts" to the man on the Right, are the myths
that government aid played no part in the^ budding of
America, that once upon a time there was a natural har-
mony of interests," which has since been spoiled by a
meddling government, that American sod a mcapa&fe of
growing "unsound" or “radical" ideas, and that such ideas

210

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

were all imported from abroad, that the Pilgrims tried
t re J e f te ^ Communism, and that the core of Thomas
Jefferson s thinking was laissez-faire capitalism (These
myths are not confined to American history That rncred-
i y complex and agonized event, the decline and fall of
e Roman Empire, is explained simply as “the result of
e dole ) The conservative mythology, like that of all
nations and classes that deplore the present and fear the
uture, has its own version of the Golden Age, an age —
was it under Garfield, McKinley, Taft, or Coolidge?-^>f
wise and frugal government, unregulated business, equal
opportunity, rags to nches. sound money, low taxes,
empty bars, full churches, kindly managers, devoted
V° r , ers> security for all who would do an honest
ays work The greatest of all m>ths affirms that laissez-
taue conservatism is "true Liberalism” and true Liberal-
m one hundred per cent Americanism No myth is ever
tfiat ^oogh which a class or interest
an \ ltSC ^ wdl ^' e natl on and the nation with itself,
otr C i con I servat, ve has sought eagerly to satisfy him-
allm ° rn, m . deed a11 of us . on this point Even when we
allow Gharles E Wilson full credit for that “and vice
_ ? , 3 * e tai * °f his memorable affirmation, "What’s

hrinn i°. r C [ lera * f ‘f° tors ,s good for the country," we are
men f ,Vl al dl,s was a classic and revealing speci-

the fnllrl 6 f 0 .^ dore °f capitahsm,” which is, of course,
the folklore of laissez-faire conservatism

cnmmn 'r cerlaln ly be argued, is a rather tnvial and
freo nfl au m which the conservative engages no more
„ Tf y “f unashamedly than does Uie liberal or
our ipim 6 V !" a , ke m yths, just as we all lead cheers for
on his *V, ^ t *^ e conserva tive leans more comfortably
conservit 3 15 “ ecause he is, even when he denies it, a
radical * i,' 6 Heav y political and social thinking is the
,;t' n ,rr s ’ r 0t ^ h * ha s better things to do than

should not he&T'l **“* ,USUXy P 0Sltl0n - wIuch
would not if ib tlunks ' have to be justified at all — and
their own ft, 6 a S ,ta * ln g men of the Left would only take

UtT S e ° neS a LttIe les * senously

™* concede this second point to the Amen-

THE COXSEEVATIYE 5JIXOUTT

:n

can Rjght tbe logic of the conservative jostixs. whxh vS
always discouraging to fancy thinking, and t!*? ys s hty ci
American debate, which, has almost sVi'S pc-t a pre«
rmurn on myth and aphorism, have conspired to inline
the voices of those who might have spoken profound^
and sear chin gfy, rather than superSaaR) ^^d dogmati-
cally, for the cause of American conservatism. This still
cannot relieve the Right of the burden of its chief intel-
lectual sin: the glad, unthinking zeal with which it first
embraced and still cherishes the principles of economic
Liberalism. While the American conservative was bound
to be optimistic, he did not have to cleanse his public
thoughts of aH doubts about man's goodness and democ-
racy's wisdom While he was bound to be materialistic,
he did not have to measure all things — even the morals
of Jesus — with the yardstick of economic fulfillment, nor
did he have' to ape his bitter cncnues the Marxists by
insisting that the determining factor m the expiation of
freedom is the way in which the means of production aro
owned and organized While he was bound to be with
statist, he did not have to go so l>htluly to the extreme of
rugged individualism Certainly ho did not have to dwell
exclusively on the points of conflict in the relationship of
individual and society, ignoring man's need for the shel-
tering community And how could ho havo been, mid ap-
parently still be, so blind to the tremendous power that
some private men wield over other private men as to in-
sist that the only real danger to liberty in the industrial
society is "government ascciulanc) ?"*

This is an indictment to which no lalsscz faire conserva-
tive is likely to make a satisfactory return. If ho argues
that traditionalism, constitutionalism, morality, and re-
ligion have provided n strong countcrbilanco to the
alleged Liberal excesses In Ills political ihmking. he can
he answered that his conservative principles have flour-
ished m splendid isolation and havo done little to curb
the extremism of his baslo thought He has interpreted
our trad lb on and Constitution narrowly in a manner that
suits his short run purposes; his morality and religion
have served Mammon as often as Cod If he reminds us of

212

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

the compelling reasons why his whole outlook was
“bound to be different," he can be answered, “Indeed it
was, but not that different,” surely not so different that it
could slight two great responsibilities of any political
theory — to maintain a balance among economic, political,
and ethical considerations, and to deal realistically with
man’s visible need for security and fellowship The intel-
lectual flabbiness of the American Right is evident in
the fullness of its surrender to the dictates of democracy
and industrialism, its intellectual sterility is exposed in the
continued failure to put these mighty forces in proper
perspective The laissez-faire conservative of the nine-
teenth century had no sea anchor to arrest his dnft into
extreme individualism and materialism The laissez-faire
conservative of the twentieth has no sail with which to
beat his way back to his proper station

The intellectual shortcomings of American conserva-
tism, like its deviations from the Conservative line, are
explained by the peculiar course of our history Democ-
racy and industrialism created' a climate of thought and
debate m which old-fashioned Conservatism became a
one-way ticket to social noncomformit}, financial medi-
ocrity, and political suicide Active men of the Right
therefore abandoned Conservatism, some of them moving
into a position of casual indifference, others energetically
espousing Liberalism, as they understood it In either case,
too many of them abandoned conservatism along with
Conservatism, and the result was a paralysis of construc-
tive thinking Long since forced into a situation that
would have been intellectually untenable for an) one who
thought about it seriously, the man on the Right h3S
sought peace in hardly thinking about it at all He has
found it both comforting and profitable to belabor hb-
e with the slogans of Liberalism and checkmate demo-
crat* with the promises of democracy

A related cause of the failure of the conservative mtel-
, 14 R 6 t ^' al a disproportionate share of creative
tak ? t b** been drawn off from the histone conservative
pro essions of statesman, landholder, teacher, civil serv-
^ P nest » Rnd soldier into the exciting venture of exploit-

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

21 ?

ing our resources and peddling the products to ourselves
and the world, and that even within these professions
there has been a dearth of speculative thinlang America
has always rewarded action over thought, and our most
able men of the Right have been too busy building rail'
roads and refrigerators to build a philosophical system of
any kind The field of political and social speculation, al'
ways the preserve of the cntics of society, has been theirs
to roam without effective challenge Not entirely inci-
dentally, the sterility of the Right has had a debilitating in-
fluence on the intellectual performance of the Left The
reformers, too, “need the enemy,” and surely a root cause
of the present doctrinal discontents of American progres-
s.vism is exactly this lack of an effective challenge from
the spokesmen of the great mass of middling conservatives
Be that as it may, the American Right has displayed an
attitude of anU-mtellectuahsm that goes far beyond the
quizzical suspicion that most conservatives seem to have
for men whose business is thinlang rather than doing The
American conservative has not merely distrusted the poet,
professor, philosopher, and political theorist, he has
scorned them, bullied them, and not seldom despised
them As man of action, in hot pursuit of present profit,
he has been too heavily engaged to read or reflect and
thus looks with misgiving on those who do As man of sta-
tus and substance, generally satisfied with things as they
are, he is easily disturbed by those who, from seats high
up m the stands, criticize his actions, challenge his posi-
tion, and propose changes in the rules of a game in which
he has been a heavy winner He and the intellectual are
trapped m a vicious circle the more savagely one of them
baits the more savagely he is baited In the end, the mid-
dling conservative is left with only a handful of faithful
friends m the ranks of intellectuals, for his materialism and
primitivism alienate natural allies as well as natural foes
Liberal intellectuals strike back in the manner of Thorstem
Veblen and Sinclair Lewis, Conservative intellectuals in
the manner of Henry and Brooks Adams, displaced per-
sons in the manner of H L Mencken The conservative
Is left largely to think lor himself, and this he is entirely

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

214

unequipped to do Producer and product of an industrial
civilization, he has been far too concerned with "know-
how," far too little concerned with "know-what" and
"know-why" No one can accuse him of being "sickbed
o’er with the palo cast of thought *

A final, all-pervading reason for the intellectual sterility
of the American Right is, as I have already hinted, that its
intensely practical and uncritical nature reflects the preva-
lent quality of all our thinking about government and so-
ciety We Americans have all glorified fact at the expense
of theory, exalted the value of the experience and de-
flated the power of the idea It is hardly an accident that
pragmatism is America’s major contribution to philos-
ophy, and the conservative, it can be argued, has been
simply the most pragmatic of a race of pragmatists Daniel
Boorstin suggests, in The Ccniut of American Politics,
that "the marvelous success and vitality of our institu-
tions have saved us from "the European preoccupation
with political dogmas and have left us inept and uninter-
ested ui political theory" We have not needed philoso-
phers "because we already have an American philosophy,
implicit in the American Way of Life “ While this is not
die place to worry Mr Doorstin’s thesis, we might remem-
ber that no American is more certain than the conserva-
tive of the identity of his own institutions with the Ameri-
can way of life, and that no one could therefore have less
use for philosophers In the realm of ideas, American con-
servatism has proved itself a footsore failure

In the realm of action, where it much prefers to be judged
and certainly should be on any large view — American
conservatism has achieved both success and failure I
P to say a few words about the over-all record of the
active Right In the last chapter It must bo enough here
o point out sadly that the failure of American conscrva-
tum in theory has been likewise a failure in fact In Chap-
, I observed that an understanding of laissez-faire con-
*«saturn u a key to an understanding, not only of the
™ moJ «n Right, but of the American pohucal

tiQO me now enlirgo on that observation.

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY 215

Tie core of our tradition is Jeffersonian democracy,
and Jeffersonian democracy, as we know, bad a strong
antipathy to the very notion of government. For centuries
ordinary men bad looked upon government as an oppres-
sive tool of the rich, as a means for perpetuating pnvilege
and legalizing inequality When, for example, govern-
ment intervened in the labor market, it was to keep hours
op and wages down, when it intervened in commerce and
finance, it was to grant favors and privileges to the few al-
ready on top of the heap. Active government was some-
thing associated with the likes of Alexander Hamilton, and
the agrarians of 1800 had eveiy reason to fear it Like
most men, they went further than necessaiy m general-
izing from their fears and ended up as advocates of doc-
trinaire anb-stabsm By 1830 most Americans shared this
attitude, the mtervenbon of government— to regulate,
though not necessarily to subsidize — was inherently hos-
tile to popular liberty

The passage of a half -century brought no change in the
tradibon but did bnng a virtually complete reversal in the
pracbcal posibons of Left and Right The former now rec-
ognized that it, too, could seize and wield the power of
government, and that this power alone could win social
justice for the stepchildren of industrialism The latter
now recognized that government was a two-edged sword
With which reformers, backed by a popular majority,
might cut the well-to-do down to size

Having first come to terms with Jeffersonian democracy
and then merged it with laissez-faire capitalism, the men
On the Right were now m an ideal ideological position to
defend their property and. power against attempts to reg-
ulate them in the public interest In insisting, like the Jef-
fersonians, that the only real liberty was liberty from gov-
ernment, they appealed more shrewdly than they knew
to the traditions and hopes of the American middle class
They were able to convince themselves and great num-
bers of their polibcal enemies that their laissez-faire prin-
ciples were authenbc Jeffeisonian democracy Agrarian
democrats, the true heirs of Jefferson, were now under
constant pressure to prove that they were not m fact

216 conservatism m America

anb-democrabc, they were themselves tom between a
clear recognition of the need for government regulation
and an uncomfortable feeling that such regulation was a
departure from the democratic faith Industrial conserva-
tives, the true heirs of Hamilton, were now able to defend
their entrenched positions agamst the reformers by cry-
ing out the slogans of Jeffersonian democracy

As a result, our public discussions of reform have been
muddied, if not bloodied, to on entirely unnecessary ex-
tent The confusion of conservative thought and hyper-
bole of conservative speech have all hut ruled out sober
public debate on many vital issues It is hard to argue with
a man who, like Falstaff, “babbles of green fields,” even
harder to argue with an anb-hberal who babbles in the
language of Liberalism The conservabve, in truth, has
held the whip hand m most debates over the American
way of life He has been able to pose as the true friend
of democracy, even when he has been most flagrantly
anti-democrabc in purpose and philosophy He has been
able to brand v, ell-meaning, democrahc reformers as "reao-
bonanes,” men bent on “taking us back” to the days when
government intervened to grant special privileges to the
nch and well bom, he has been delighted to stand history
and logic on their heads by asserting knowingly that a re-
forming liberal like Franklin Roosevelt was really no bet-
ter than a “twenbeth-ccntury Federalist ” This sort of
thinking and talking may have served the conservabve
well from the short-range point of view, and it could bo
argued that there are more ways than one to defend an
established order The fact that conscrvabsm is supposed
to be the thankless persuasion” does not mean that it must
court unpopularity deliberately Yet it is impossible to
deny that the confusions of American conservabve
thought have had a depressing influence on tho art of
public debate, the advance of social justice, the solution
of persistent problems of a complex industrial society, ard

e identificabon and defense of the primary values in our
tradition.

In conclusion, it should be clearly understood that
t3iri y pouria m thii account of the intellectual short com-

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

217

mgs of American conservatism are matters of opinion open
to criticism, qualification, and rebuttal Certainly we
would want to listen respectfully to the argument that this
spotty record was a small and necessary price to pay for
the contributions of the Right to the building of industrial
America, the winning of two world wars, and the pre-
vention of a third If one accepts the thesis of Allan Nevms
that "the industrial revolution in the United States came
none too soon, and none too fast, and that the ensuing
mass-production revolution was not bom a day too
early, one may certainly overlook a good part of this rec-
ord

Yet the feeling cannot be downed that the intellectual
and cultural puce the nation has paid foT material progress
was neither small nor necessaiy, that we could have had
our industrial system and a sounder conservatism, too, and
that such a conservatism, less popular but more spirited,
would have saved us from many vulgar excesses of the
past seventy-five years We can all agree that American
'onsmatism was bound to be difierent, but some of us
may continue to insist that it did not have to be that dif-
ferent It would have served the Repubbc more wisely
and well had it not become both captive and captor of the
democratic dogma, both master and slave of the industrial
Way of life

Writing a dozen years ago out of a full acquaintance with
all these considerations, and basking, as he wrote, in the
still warm rays of the setting sun of Roosevelt progressiv-
ism, Lionel Tnlling denied the relevance or even exist-
ence of an American philosophy of self-conscious conserva-
tism:

In the United States at this time liberalism is not
only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tra-
dition For it is the plain fact that nowadays there
are no conservative or reactionary ideas in general
circulation This does not mean, of course, that there
is no impulse to coastssitisnv ct reaction. - . E14

the conservative impulse and the reactionary ]q_

218

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

pulse do not, with some isolated and some ecclesiasti-
cal excepbons, express themselves in ideas but only
m acbon or in irritable mental gestures which seek to
resemble ideas

It is doubtful that Trilling would be as off-handed to-
day m dismissing the Right as a force of no consequence
in intellectual America The plain fact is — and by now it
must be plain to all but the most asbgmabc observers on
the Left— that fresh, even turbulent currents of anti-Lib-
eralism have been pounng into and roiling the great main-
stream of the American tradibon ever since the close of
World War II In the fields of education, theology, litera-
ture, social relations, culture, and pokbes, the pleasant
assumpbons and dogmas of the Liberal tradibon have
been brought into doubt, if by no means into widespread
disrepute, by the protests and badgerings of a small host
of poets, preachers, authors, professors, and publicists
Some of these critics have stood polbcaUy on the Right,
others on the Left, still others have soared serenely above
he sweaty clash of pohbcs Some of them have been Lib-
era seeking simply to curb the stylisbc excesses of Lib-
era ism, others, intellectual reactionaries peddling some
ong isused brand of social nostrum bke distnbubsm or
anarc ism, still others have been no more than prudent
■ggers into the American and Bnbsh pasts, men con-
cern to discover whether the ideas of Jefferson and Mill
were a ways in fact sa ascendant as we have assumed The
e , ectua reacll0n against tradibonal American ways of
' n ® a °out man, culture, society, and history has been
.1 C °° 1150 CQ nfusmg as the pohbcal reacbon against
V1S i m °* t ^ le 1 93o's Yet no one can fail to see
fir* ra tra( htion is now under sharp if not lethal

whns* 1 t t ^ 1,s ® re ,s being laid down by men

the Right Ca Stance mar ^ s them plainly as occupants of

subl? V S i° uId ^ most ,nl eresbng to us about this many-
ed reacbon against Liberalism is the new life -t has
ture V™ »v. n ^,° n t lt frm Sc of American politics and cul-
e Conservabve tradition A score of able and

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

219

articulate writers have been fluttering the academic
dovecotes, if not exactly convulsing the political arena,
with a shower of books, articles, and pamphlets written
in a consciously Conservative spirit While different wint-
ers go to different sources for inspiration — Aristotle, St
Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas, Calvin, Hooker, Metter-
nich, Coleridge, John Adams, Calhoun, Henry Adams, Bab-
bitt, More, and T S Eliot all have their disciples among
American Conservatives — Burke is the one man of the
tradition who is treated universally with respect and even
affection Indeed, the revival of hts reputation for politi-
cal sagacity runs far beyond the tiny circle of Conserva-
tives A fascinating by-product of the conservative up-
surge of the postwar years has been the re-mtroduchon
of Burke as a serious thinker into courses in political the-
ory at colleges throughout America

Let us turn now to look briefly at the new Conserva-
tives If they can be as many-tongued and. factious on fine
points of doctrine as any collection of Liberals, they are
none the less united by an intense conviction that the
American conservative must be led back to Conservatism
If they may never have the influence on the American
mind, or even on the politics of the Right, that ey n*us
have occasionally dreamed of having, they have already
won themselves considerably more than a footnote m his-

tones of Amencan thought .

The first in fame, if Dot quite in point o[ tune, is RusseJJ
Kirk, independent onto oi men and manners who salhes
forth defiantly, wrth both pen and lecture-notes . from In.
ancestral home m Mecosta, ® jf? l

toes of innovation h.p and thigh AM"**** “
written a small shelf of bools in demmo of wh, be calls
"defeeated Lrberahsm.- his major mirk. The
Mind (.use), ,s still fa and asvay Ins most solid ccombu
ton to the revival of Conservatism In ■ design a schofa y
histoiy ol the BnrUan t — J £££*. ZZ
ica, in essence 1 is P d bbn g civilization, or at

Srt tot'e mS wto do ,U dimUng lid talking, that die

Si C^ervTe tradition bas neve, been more relevant

220

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

than at this very moment in history In this book and all
his others Kirk rings the familiar Conservative changes
with enthusiasm and eloquence the universal moral
order supported and sanctioned by organized religion, the
imperfect and largely immutable nature of man, the ne-
cessity of social classes and orders, the folly of attempts at
leveling by force of law, the inseparability of liberty and
property, the excellence of aristocracy, the limited reach
of reason and consequent importance of traditions and in-
stitutions, the uncertainty of progress except through
prescription, the necessity of diffusing political and social
power, the equilibrium of rights and responsibilities, the
conservative mission of education, the primacy of the or-
ganic community, the beauties of social stability and har-
mony, the final dignity and inviolability of the human
personality, the pleasures of the Conservative mood, the
superiority of the Conservative mind, and the gravity of
the Conservative mission He does not ring them, be it
noted, in a social vacuum Kirk is a Conservative in taste
and temper as well as in doctrine, the vision of the Good
Society that he carries in his mind's eye is old Concord
rather than new Detroit, gentle Charleston rather than
churlish Birmingham, obstinate St Andrews rather than
faddish Harlow New Town

As a man who hates change as heartily as reform, who
is barely more comfortable with the social products of
Ceneral Motors than with the political plans of the United
Automobile Workers, Kirk has been granted a surprisingly
oity status among the literary heroes of ultra-conserva-
tism He is, for example, the favorite political theorist of
enator Barry Goldwater, a fact that proves one, or per-
ha P s of two thmgs that Senator Goldwater has not
read The Conservative Mind, or that Kirk is so lavish and
quotable w his own attacks on the Left that he must be
* us doctrinal and cultural eccentricities and be
tv n m ran ^ s those who cannot forgive Franklin
oosevelt It has been, in any case, a remarkably easy
— mCn Goldwater and William F Buckley, jr
an almost any corporation executive one can name — ■
clasp hands with Kirk across the gulf that yawns widely

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY 2 2l

between Sumnenan individualism and Burkean Conserva-
tism, between a view of life that he scorns as "Bentham-
ite'' and a View that I have heard one of his admirers
describe privately as "Luddite” The shopworn saying
that politics makes strange bedfellows comes alive in the
sight of men who drive new Cadillacs and Jaguars joining
forces with a man who is content with a 1930 Chevrolet,
of men who look forward to the next great expansion of
American industry singing praises to a man whose spiritual
home is the crumbling castle of a Scottish laird Kirk, it
seems to me, maintains contact with the conservatism of
Cold water and General Motors only because most of his
friends refuse to pay him the compliment that most of his
critics have paid him richly the chewing, swallowing, and
digesting of his books Perhaps it is just as well they do
not read him carefully, for what would they think of an
ally who can write,

I type these sentences on my great-uncle Raymonds
typewriter, an L C Smith No 1, area 1907, per.
haps my heir will use it after me A profound sense
of continuity, and the consciousness of living among
things that do not pensh, tend to convince a man
that Creation is good

It appears that Kirk, in his honest moments, is a man
who has lost all patience with the course of American de-
velopment in almost every field from art to politics, and
that, as a man passionately intent on restoration rather
than conservation, he stands as far outside the mam {j^
of American conservatives as did Fisher Ames in his
days and Henry Adams in his The resultant ddemni^
this Burkean Conservative is distressing to observe
wants desperately to defend the traditions and institute
of his country, yet most of those he chenshes are g 0Qg
forever He seeks to cultivate the Conservatne roo&i ^
reverence and contentment, yet he sounds like a rad ;ca j
m his attacks on what is now, for better or wors^
American way of life With his great mentor Burke h e
fesses to despise ideology, yet he is himself forced by ,1
loneliness of his intellectual and temperamental

232

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

to be an unvarnished ideologue Kirk himself once diag-
nosed the uncomfortable position he occupies in a Liberal
world by admitting that “the conservative, in our time,
must be prepared for the role of Don Quixote,” which
raises the question whether, for all his traditionalism, Don
Quixote could be classed as anything but a fabulous reac-
tionary There is a point beyond which the man of con-
servative temper can push his nostalgia only at peril of
losmg contact with the real world of political and social
conservatism After several abortive attempts in recent
years to give political advice to his large audience, Kirk
has now acknowledged his own alienation from American
conservatism by concentrating his fire on the forces of
innovation and deterioration in the field of education It is
the hens of John Dewey, not those of Franklin D Roose-
velt, for whom he now reserves his most eloquent stric-
tures

All in all, I must in candor and admiration repeat the
judgment I made of Russell Kirk in the first edition of this
book. Useful and refreshing a critic of the American style
and purpose as he has been, he has the sound of “a man
bom one hundred and fifty years too late and m the wrong
country Since Henry Adams acknowledged that his own
birth came six hundred years too late and in an even
wronger country — and since we could scarcely imagine
American letters without him— Kirk need have no fear
o eing barred from a high place m the histones yet to
C t ^' e “rt^ectual ferments of postwar Amer-

ica f his is not a doctrine to be followed, it is certainly
one to be understood and, if only for its eloquent obsti-
nacy, respected

Viereck, poet and professor of history at Mt Hol-
yo e ege, is another self-conscious Conservative who
as ound it the better part of wisdom to concentrate his
acn fo r tradition-oriented criticism in a field several
removes from politics Caught between the urge to live
ifrd ( P nnci P^ es *>f his trail-blazmg Conservatism Rects-
'*949) and a Tory-democratic preference for men
> e tevenson to men like Eisenhower, he has withdrawn
rom e platform, on which he had become a familiar fig-

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY 523

e ui the most unlikely parts of Amenca, and returned to
the study, there to write verse and drama in his breezy
yet essentially traditionalist and form-respecting style An
eccentric from the start — he claims to have been in-
spired first of all by Mettemich rather than by Burke

J iertc k has chosen consciously to act on his own advice
In America the conservative today can best start by be-
ing unpolitical " Yet his books and articles remain behmd
as 30 imposing, if somewhat Hemy-Mooreish monument
to what he saluted as the "revolt against revolt,” and no
one can read his Conservatism Revisited, or even his whim-
sical The Unadjusted Man, without being reminded of the
continuing vitality of many principles of the Burkean tra-
dition The Conservative attack on Liberalism for “ethical
relativism" owes much of its sbng to Peter Viereck

No other participant in the revival of Conservatism has
contributed quite so much energy as Kirk or fire as Vie-
reck to demonstrating the relevance of Burke, Adams,
Colendge, and other half-forgotten heroes for the ethical,
cultural, and even political quarrels of our time Yet these
h»o would be the first to acknowledge that other men
have stood stoutly by their sides, the last to deny that
other books may yet be written to eclipse the deserved
fame of The Conservative Mind and Conseroofism Revis-
ited In order to get some idea of the fertility of the new
Conservatism, let us at least take brief note of several other
Americans who have written and are still writing as critics
of both the Left and Liberalism
Francis G Wilson of Illinois, who puts The Case fo r
Conservatism (1951) in essentially religious terms and
calls for a new awareness of “the tragedy of American
life”,

Richard M Weaver of Chicago (but a devoted son of
Western North Carolina), whose Ideas have Conse-
quences (1948), The Ethics of Rhetoric (1953), and oc-
casional writings in Modem Age — “a Conservative i*.
view” founded in 1957 by Russell Kirk— bespeafc 4
Conservatism that owes much to Plato but perhaps e,^
more to a “complete disenchantment" with the pres^
tuousness and vulgarity of Liberalism, and whose re^j

224

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

writings have become increasingly concerned with the
debasing effects of "mass plutocracy”,

R A Nisbet of California, whose The Quest for Com-
munity (1953) is a relentless yet good-tempered exposure
of both the sociological and ideological fallacies of run-
away individualism,

John Hallowell of Duke, whoso The Moral Foundations
of Democracy (1954) is essentially an attempt to ransom
the democratic ethic from its long association with Liberal-
ism,

Raymond English of Kenyon, who has earned the mes-
sage of Burke from his native England into the heart of
America, and who has done more than any other political
thinker to construct a Conservative theory of the state,
Frank S Meyer, spinner of “Principles and Heresies” in
the National Review, who has turned back from the radi-
calism of his early years to expound a theory of restora-
tions Conservatism that emphasises “reason and the au-
tonomy of the person” rather than "continuity and
authority' as the basis of an effective opposition "to the
prevailing relativism and value nihibsm, collectivism and
statism”,

James Burnham, another rehabilitated radical, whose
profoundly pessimistic and lmutationist Congress and the
mertcan Tradition (1959) is a far cry from his famous
1 he Managerial Revolution, and a paean to the legislative
way of hfe and politics,

William M McGovern and David S. Collier, co-au-
ors of Radtcals and Conservatives (1957), a handbook
tor even-tempered Burkeans,

Anthony Hamgan, Ross Hoffman, and Frederick D Wil-
f w k° have seized upon the implied Conservatism
. 0 c P°htical theory — of which more presently — to
e ™ ost S€n °us questions about liberal democracy,
i'eter Dmcker, a troubled Conservative who follows
S ams rat her than Henry in advocating radical
U 0UT S0Cla * an( l industrial discontents,

. ^ ves of the Baltimore Sun , whose poetic tnb-

p 6 0 enalor Taft proves that the spurt of Thomas Green
Fessenden is not yet dead

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY 225

OM Roundhead, stalwart legislative oak.

Standing this latter day, still firm and true
To curb the crown, the king our fathers broke —

To spur our vigilance, our watch renew!

Restless and bold, executory pnde
Chafed now as then to shake off rein and bit
Steady the ComrAons men must fend and bide.

Not sapping power, but disciplining 1 1
So stood you plain, without heroic charm
Like Pi /m before you, virtue was your arm
In you, like Pym, the sober patriot saw
Virtue upgtrdmg Freedom under Law

This list could be extended downward to include such
eloquent, self-proclaimed Conservatives (or, perhaps
wore accurately, anh-Liberals) as Eliseo Vivas, WiUmoore
Kendall, Revilo Oliver, J A Lukacs, David McCord
Wnght, George de B Huszar, Donald A Zoll, Stanton
Evans, W T Couch, W H Chamberlin, Stanley Parry,
James Jackson Kilpatrick, Cerhart Niemeyer, and the
late Russell Davenport, Bernard Iddings Bell, and
Cordon K Chalmers — and outward to include such
distinguished and dissimilar men as Herbert Agar,
Daniel J Boorstm, Harry Cideonse, Crane Brinton, Wil-
liam Ernest Hocking, George Kennan, Robert M Hutch-
ms, Hans J Morgenthau, Mortimer Adler, McGeorge
Bundy, Walter F Bems, jr , Arthur Bestor, Robert Frost,
Henry M Wnston, Louis Hacker, Allan Nevins, Samuel
P Huntington, Samuel Eliot Monson, John K Jessup, Ad-
lai Stevenson, Leo Strauss, August Heckschcr, Henry C
Wallich, Frank H Knight, John M Clark, and above all
Walter Lippmann and Rcinhold Niebuhr Few of these
men are Conservatives and even fewer conservatives, yet
all have been heard to voice some of the central ideas of
the Burkean tradition in the debates over education, pol-
Hies, culture, end religion in tile past to,
then spec.,) .nicest, or polrtrcal aShatrons, they have ,11
done their bits, and often done them with more flare than
the announced Conservatives, m the conunumg teacuon
agarnsl the eacesses ot Ltberahso Yet .1 is the Conserve-

22 $ CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

hves like Kirk, Weaver, and Wilson who have belabored
Liberalism in season and out, and who must therefore he
given a very special place in the intellectual history of the
American Right There are, I repeat, conspicuous varia-
tions in inspiration and aspiration among the Conservative
intellectuals, jet the differences that divide, say, the ideo-
logical Conservatism of Kirk from the sociological Con-
servatism of Nisbct or the Aristotelian Conservatism of
Hallow ell from the Platonic Conservatism of Weaver are
shallow ditches compared with the deep gulf, m style if
not in politics, that divides them all from the laissez-faire
conservatism of a Hoover or Coldwater And what divides
them most clearly from most American conservatives is an
outspoken distaste for the excesses, vulgarities, and dislo-
cations of the industrial way of life, a deep-seated antip-
athy toward the undiluted Jeffersonian tradition, a conse-
quent emphasis on our European and English heritage, a
peculiar affection for Burke and John Adams (but not for
Hamilton or Spencer or Sumner), and a willingness to
think and write m the spirit of conscious Conservatism

In a symposium on the South in the Fall, 1958 ,ssue
Modern Age, Russell Kirk saluted that beleaguered terri-
tory, or at least the white people in it, as “the Permanence
of the American nation", and he wondered out loud 'hovV
much longer” the South, the “defender of prin-
ciples immensely ancient" and of "conventions that yet
have meaning," would be permitted to throw its full con-
servative weight into the balance of American social
forces While, this is not a sentiment in which all Conserv-
atives, even those who are politically ultra-conservative,
would join with enthusiasm, the actions and reactions of
the white South clearly make more emotional, historical,
and visceral sense to men well over on the Right than they
do to the great body of Americans who occupy the re-
maining two-thirds of the political spectrum The South-
ern style and purpose have, moreover, become clearly
more conservative in the jears of crisis since Brown Y
Board of Education (1954) This Southern conservatism,
it should be added, extends far beyond the question of

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY 22?

race relations to all manner of political, social, and cultural
issues Neither labor organizers nor dissenting professors,
»<» er welfare workers nor abstract expressionists, get
much of a welcome in the South today
There /s nothing especially new about this situation
, e South has always been the most conservative area in
e mted States The dominance of agriculture and rural
'mg, the homogeneity of the white population and its
more visible organization into classes, the extraordinary
strength of family tics, the no less extraordinary hold of
religion, the migration of white and Negro dissidents to
other parts of the country, the lack of material means to
carry through public reforms, the special role of the small-
town lawjers in politics and public affairs, above all the
persistence of the racial problem and the sense of tragedy
animated by the memory of the Lost Cause — these are
only the most obvious explanations for the intense conserv-
atism that has permeated this region The conservatism of
the South is a strange brand, to be sure- It is, for example,
far more casual about violence and disrespectful of law
than conservatism should be That it is none the less con-
servatism can hardly be denied, that it has been given a
sharp spur by the events of the last four years cannot
be denied at all The people of the white South have re-
acted to the real or imagined threats of "revolution’* to
their way of life exactly as people of conservative temper
and purposes have reacted always and everywhere to i ev-
olutions — by closing ranks that might otherwise be
harshly divided, by suppressing the voices of dissent and
thus even of moderation, and by granting a hearing to
extremists who play on their worst fears and prejudices
Under the pressure of events in the South today middling
conservatives have turned toward ultra-conservatism and
ultra-conservatives toward pseudo-conserv absm, while the
traditional conservative arts of compromise, prudential
action, and "stealing the Whigs’ clothes” have fallen into
disrepute and disuse

This mounting crisis m society and politics has had a
sharp impact on the world of ideas Men who for years
had given only passing thought to political and consbhi-

22 $

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

tional theory have been pounng forth books, tracts,
pamphlets, editorials, and speeches in defense of the
Southern way of life Most of these men, one finds in talk-
ing to them or reading them, continue to employ the
rhetoric of Jefferson, especially of Jefferson the states-
righter and anti-statist The Southern Right, too, remains
the comfortable prisoner of the dogmas of laissez-faire con-
servatism, which is one reason why its case is listened to
in many parts of the North with perhaps more respect
than it deserves Indeed, on every political, constitutional,
oreconoimc issue except the racial problem, where their
obduracy and even demagoguery unsettle many of their
nends in the North, the conservative leaders of the South
are scarcely distinguishable from conservatives in other
parts of the Union If they take special attitudes on their
special problem, so, too, do conservativ es in Vermont or
Noitfi Dakota or Oregon or Kansas on theirs In the final
reckoning, there is precious little to divide Senator Byrd
from Senator Capehart or General Clark from General
MacArthur The accidents of history made Byrd a Demo-
cra and Capehart a Republican, but this division is hardly
V1S1 e ™ dle,r speeches and voting records or in their
views o human relations, economics, politics, and the

J° me S ° ut ^emers, most of them poets, editors, and pro-
lX°ri rS . ra .f er ^ n Pte**™ and businessmen, have re-
c ^ a en E e of integration by seizing upon Cal-
r ’ even Burke himself rather than Jef-

n 'J , e ull Conservative tradition has been given a
^L b f B ® Soutf i, and although the men who sub-
thpm consctousl y are few, many other men listen to
nemta!? “J teresl respect It has no more chance of
SSSS*? 6 m f ds of the «"»* hod y of Southern con-
eralism r, tk” i* °* ^°° senu ig the stranglehold of Lib-
that wa n 6 ^ mencan tradition, jet it is a phenomenon
that we cannot pass lightly by

Souffi tmt ^‘ revlva l of Conservatism in the

events tU™ runiun S for over thirty years, and the
atShn.t?!u PaSt decade have serve d only to call fresh
e men who got the revival under way. the

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

22 9

so-called “Tennessee agrarians * Beginning as the "JW-.
five Poets" of Nashville m the 1920's, these conservatoe'
intellectuals, few but unusually articulate, were driven to
social and political analysis by the coming of the Great
Depression Though most of their writings in this vein
were occasional and ephemeral, they did produce one
remarkable little book called Til Tale My Stand First
published m 1930 and reissued m 1931, this book is a
senes of essays by twelve like-minded Southerners in-

cluding Stark Young, John Crowe Ransom, H C N«on
Allen Tate, Donald Davidson, and Robert Penn Warren-^
intent upon supporting “a Southern way of hfe against
what may be called the American or prevailing way." The
case, both sentimental and practical, for the agranan
South has never been put more directly and eloquently
and never, even by Calhoun, in a more outspokenly Co n ’
servabve style This case was also put, with fascinating
variations, m Who Oums America? (1936), The Attack
on Leviathan (1938), and a scattering of articles by Her-
bert Agar, Frank Owsley, Alien Tate, and others m the
dl-fated American Review (1933-1937)

If we may for the moment consider the authors of TU
Take My Stand as one person — and it is essential to note
that all of them agreed unreservedly to a "statement of
principles" before going their ways in separate essays^,
we may ask just who is this man, this agrarian Conserve
bve, and with what assumptions and principles does h e
go to the defense of his beloved South?

He is, first of all, an agranan because he is shocked h
the impact of industrialism on the mores, manners,
culture of his section, and because he is determine^ ^
defiance of all the chambers of commerce that exult m jj.
industrialization of the South, to maintain the pmna^
agriculture and the way of life it encourages “An
lan society" he writes,

is hardly one that has no use at all for Industrie, t
professional vocation, for scholars and artists, ^ , 0f
the life of cities Technically, perhaps, an agra^ j*
ciety is one m which agriculture is the leading v
hon, whether for wealth, for pleasure, or for

230

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

— a form of labor that Is pursued with intelligence
and leisure, and that becomes the model to which
the other forms approach as well as they may Bui
an agrarian regime will be secured readily enough
where the superfluous industries are not allowed to
nse against it The theory of agrarianism is that the
culture of the sod is the best and most sensitive of
vocations, and that therefore it should luve the eco-
nomic preference and enlist the maximum number of
workers

In such a society, tho agrarian argues, the values of the
people arc more solid, their religion more genuine, and
their culture more creative, while “the amenities of life
— "manners, conversation, hospitality, sympathy, family
life, romantic love the social exchanges which re-
veal and develop sensibility m human affairs" — arc prac-
ticed with more taste and ft cling

He is a Conservative because, disliking the nature and
pace of industrial “progress,"" h'e is spiritually willing and
intellectually able to frame his dislike in avowedly Con-
servative terms His ideal seems to be the yeoman republic
of Jefferson rather than the “Creek democracy" of Cal-
houn, and in support of this ideal he Spins out a political
and social theory in which ethical aristocracy, social har-
mony, community, property, religion, contentment, rev-
erence, order, continuity, and tradition are warmly
praised, and equalitarianism, progress, majority rule, rug*
ged individualism, and materialism are either searchmgly
questioned or roundly damned And being a true Conserv-
ative, he is as concerned to prevent changes in his way of
life brought about by the nse of industry as he is to frus-
trate reforms engineered in behalf of Negroes
When Ransom, Tate, Davidson, and the rest first arose
to combat the forces of innovation in the South, they were
able to tiptoe gingerly, if not entuely delicately, around
the nasty question of race and concentrate their attack
on the advocates of “an industrial Dixie ” Now, however,
they can tiptoe no longer, and it is rev eahng that Donald
Davidson, the ranking agrarian Still left m the South, has

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

* 3 *

come to see a greater threat to his section in Brown v
Board of Education than be ever saw in the Coca-Cola
Company

The questions arise how sincerely do men like David-
son and his spiritual heir, Richard M Weaver, believe in
the embattled cause of Southern agrarianism? What are
they actually prepared to do in behalf of the way of life
they cherish so deeply, and which is, after all, being
changed even more rapidly by industrialization than it is
by integration? Do they want to unmake history, and do
they think they can? I have put these questions directly to
several of these men, and Uuir answers lend substantial
support to the impression one gets from reading their
book they are neither hopeless romantics nor feckless re-
actionaries They are fully aware of the irreversibility of
history, including the history that has been made since
1930 Certainly they no longer seek or expect a retreat
to 1930 or 1900, least of all to i860 They do believe that
the rural South has been the peculiar nursery of the abid-
ing values that make art, life, and religion possible, and
that these values can even now act as leaven to the sour,
unattractive mass of modem industrialism Since values,
however worthy, cannot exist indefinitely without institu-
tional support, the agrarians propose to halt the runaway
of industrialization in the South, to bolster the economic,
political, and moral position of the farm population, and to
resist the inroads into Southern culture and education of
ideas and techniques they despise

Whether they can transfer the best values of the South
that is gone to the South that is arising is a question open
to senous doubt What is dear is that the spint of agrar-
ianism is not completely dead nor the ways of industrial-
ism universally accepted in this country, and that a small
band of men has expressed the old agrarian spint in a
consciously Conservative manner So conscious, indeed, U
tlie Conservatism of the remaining agranans tlut David-
son now sees them as fighters for "tl« cau«* of civilized
socuty, as we have known it in tho Western \\ orVj,
against the new barbarism of science and technology con-
trolled by tho modem power state. In tins sense the cause

232 CONSERVATISM OT AMERICA

of the South was and is the cause of Western civilization
Once again we are reminded of the gulf, which yawns in
the South just as widely as it does in the rest of America,
between the tiny Conservative minority and the vast con-
sea able majority Now what land of man, we can hear
the spokesmen of American conservatism wondering,
would talk seriously about the “barbarism'’ of science and
technology? And the answer is a committed Conservabve
who is not worried about being popular.

The story of Conservatism in modem America would not
be complete without some brief mention of the political
theory of Roman Catholicism One approaches this the-
ory with hesitant steps There are, by latest count, more
than forty million Catholics in the United States, and
their attitudes cover most points on the political spectrum.
At the same time, there is a body of primary principles
that forms the philosophical basis for most social pro-
nouncements of the American hierarchy, is taught confi-
dently in Catholic colleges, and is expressed in one form
or another by most Catholic polibcal thinkers These
thinkers, 1 have learned by inquiry, are charactcnsbcally
American in their wide choice of labels or refusal to be
labeled at all If some, like Anthony Hamgan and Fred-
erick D, Wilhelmsen, have joined with delight in the as-
sault on Liberalism, others, like John Cogley and Father
John Courtney Murray, have kept secular faith with Jef-
ferson In any case, one cannot miss the close kinship of
Catholicism and Conservabsm in such authoritative exam-
ples of Catholic political thought as Ryan and Bolands
Catholic Principles of Politics, Ross Hoffman’s The Spirit
of Politics and the Future of Freedom , Martin Hillen-
brand’s Power and Morals, J F Cronin’s Catholic Social
Principles, or some of the papers published by the Natural
Law Institute at Notre Dame Without attempting a defin-
itive summary of the well ordered political theory ex-
pounded by Fathers Rjan and Boland, I would point to
certain proposihons that they, and most Catholic thinkers,
state without equivocabon I frame these in the language

THE CONSERVATIVE MINORITY

233

of Conservative political theory rather than Catholic the-
ology:

A higher law guides man and limits government
The nature of man is immutably mixed, politically
speaking, sinfulness and weakness are its most notable
characteristics

Natural rights carry with them natural responsibilities,
the crux of the latter is "the complete observance of the
moral law”

Civil rights and responsibilities are similarly balanced
Liberty is basically "the freedom to do what is good ard
right,"

Morality is consequently the basis of se!f-go\ emment
The state, which consists of society and government, is
necessary and divinely ordained

Society must be stable, moral, disciplined, united, and
ordered

Institutions, especially the divine church and divinely
willed family, are essential to the proper functioning of so-
ciety.

The nght to own property, a natural right, is essential
to personal freedom and social stability

Social classes are inevitable, acceptance of this social
truth, however, is never to obscure the eternal truth that
men are equal in the sight of God

The so-called “class struggle" is wicked and unnatural
Education is essentially conservative in nature and mls-

The primary functions' of government are to-promote
public and private morality (especially by supporting reli-
gion), establish mstice, resolve conflicts among individuals
and classes, regulate enterprise, protect old institution*
and encourage the forming of new ones, and generally
promote human welfare. . , , , , ,

The solution to relations between the divinely ordained
state and the inviolable individual 1* neither arrogant au-
thontanamsm nor unbndlod individualism.

If to these propositions we add the church* andent ir»-
ristence on thi primacy of religion. long standing hostility
to the Liberal promise of salvation on earth, and recent

234

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

emphasis on loyalty and love of country, we come, I
think, to this firm conclusion, the political theory of Ca-
tholicism, even as shaped to the realities of American life
and dictates of the American tradition, re mams an essen-
tially Conservabve body of principles The existence of
Mineral theory does not force the thoughts or acbons
of Catholic Americans into one constricting mold In the
realm of social philosophy, some Catholics dislike the in-
usta present, others celebrate the machine and all its
pr nets In the realm of political sloganeering, some Cath-

0 cs ead dieers for rugged individualism, others sing the
eau es of collective reform Catholics are heard to voice

s arp fferences over the supposed dangers of govern-
mail mtemntion, the allmsablc limits of freedom of ex-
pression, t e details of state-church relations, or the rela-
S ^ ln ^ cor P°rabons and unions in the American
nnl.f, 0n ^ C »i.^ Stem no Catholic thinker denies that the

1 C , e ? r y °/ conscious Cathohcism comes much

, does the American tradibon to the pnnciples

Conservatlsm Indeed, if an American were to
fv. e Y a ® n bsh visitor, "Are the pnnciples of the

j y. , a ve ^ a dibon taught anywhere m the States to-
Za 'u C ? U , d anSwcr ,n aU honesty "Yes, imperfectly
i .. ^ ue y none the less sympathebcally m Catho-
lie allege, and iimve, sites all os„ L count*-
servahim ° COurse ’ 3 %ei 7 lon g way from saying that Con-
that man ' S 1 t ? aj0r force 111 Ame ncan educabon— or, for
r V ’ m Amencan culture and pohbcs Fix the outer
sihlv ° enc an Conservatism as generously as we pos-
who ad i S£>eClfieall y to ndude all those men of ideas
bons ami* ° pro ^ oun d disenchantment with the assump-
tjons and promises of Liberahsm-and we are sbll left
of intellect f COrporal s guard m contrast to the regiment
Who T, t0 menbon army of men of affairs.

Those Am orta ^y at ^ome with the Amencan tradibon
con°l^ r nCanS Wh ° Speak wnte as genuine, self-

z: 11 C Z ™ ^ L ° b “ '»

ideas a m,. a tUI ^‘ eccen bic mrnonty m the world of
pohbcs Understood uunonty in the world of nght-wmg

VIII

the future of
AMERICAN CONSERVATISM

O R

A Modest Vote of Thanks for
the Thankless Persuasion

n

AJoke than seventy years ago Woodrow Wilson said of
tfla American future.

America is now sauntering through her resources
and through the mazes of her politics w ith easy non-
chalance, but presently there will come a time when
she wall bo surprised to find herself grown old, — a
country crowded, strained, perplexed, — when she
will bo obliged to fall back upon her conservatism,
obliged to pull herself together, adopt a new regi-
men of fife, husband her resources, concentrate her
strength, steady her methods, sober her views, re-
strict her vagaries, trust her best, not her average
members

The tunc foretold by Wilson is now upon us in America,
*«d we seem destined to go on living in it as far as the eye
t>f tmsgituisca esa see The eudeuce p/kj up on eiery
side to warn us that we arc crowded, strained, and per-

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

236

plexcd, that many of our vaganes have got out of con-
trol, and that we stand in desperate need of steady meth-
ods, sober views, and our best members

One piece of evidence, surely the most interesting to
readers of this booh, is the changing character of Ameri-
can political thought The well-remembered events of
the recent past and the dimly-apprehended challenge of
the immediate future have caused a stiffening of attitudes
and assumptions all across the spectrum of American pol-
itics

Liberalism, on one hand, has gone "tough-minded ” Al-
though its approach to the problems of an exploding pop-
ulation, a stuttering economy, a formless culture, and a
revolutionary world continues along the path of social in-
novation, it now proposes to follow this path purposefully
rather than nonchalantly, doggedly rather than cheerfully,
with an eye on the pitfalls at its feet rather than on the
stars overhead The progressive ideas of the 1930*5, some
of our most eloquent liberals are now heard to insist, are
simply not viable in the turmoil of the 1960’s Whatever
wonders it may have worked in the Great Depression, the
p ilosophy of the New Deal has become a stale mixture of
atuous optimism and casual opportunism In the world of
1 eas, as in the world of politics, one can sense the gath-
ering of the forces of American progressivism for the next
great opportunity — which did not, after all the excite-
ment present itself in i960 — and it is a gathering marked
by sobriety and skepticism

Conservabsm, on the other, has come out of hiding and
ca e for a confident stance, again purposeful rather than
nonchalant, on the ancient ways, which are, it is argued
s enuously, capable of bearing almost any load that a
grea and growing nation chooses to place upon them
onionced that the new liberalism of Galbraith, Niebuhr,
n* 1 ,! t, , Cr 1S not ^ un g but the old liberalism of Roosevelt
opkins inflated to absurd proportions and painted
at l* 6 “ Ct T ,r°' ors ' men of the Right are expounding
eas a half-dozen brands of self-conscious conservatism
, ve been just so many unpopular drugs on
6 ec * ua ^ ma *ket a generation ago In the world of

IBS FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSFRVATISM 337

ideas, as in the world of politics, one can see the gath-
ering of the forces of American conservatism to meet the
renewed assaults of liberalism
It remains to be seen whether the manv-tongued
spokesmen of the new conservatism are to have even a
raction of the influence on Amencan life that was worked
by spokesmen of the old progressivism like John Dewey
ana Charles A Beard, yet already it is clear that their
entry into the arena of public discussion has been an event
of some consequence m the histoiy of Amencan thought
o longer are the meaningful debates over education, cul-
and human relations monopolized by men of either a
nberal or radical persuasion, no longer are conservatives
wughed right out of contention when they speak of form,
tradition, and discipline To the contrary, they often find,
to their mingled amusement and irritation, that thur oppo-
nents are just as quick with the timeless truths of conserv-
atism, even of Conservatism, as any Kirk or Weav er or Wil-
son While the dominant style of Amencan thought re-
mains rather ostentatiously Liberal, conservatism is once
again a force to be reckoned with in. culture and politics
Above the babble of the voices of the Left and Center in
the academic and cultural precincts of modem Amcnca
VV{ * can now hear, for the first time in many years, the
voices of the Right More wonderful than that, some of
the clearest voices of the Left are also speaking a language
that Franklin Roosevelt and many of his friends would
have thought to be downright old-fashioned

It scarcely seems the part of bravery to foresee no sud-
den check or reversal in the glacial shift of the Amencan
intellect toward the Center and beyond toward the Right
Trustworthy observers have pointed to several develop-
ments that are making it easier for ordinary men to 1 ne
as conservatives, and thus for extraordinary men to think
as conservatives, a socwl structure not quite so plastic as
it was a half-century ago, an increased emphasis on status
and parallel reduction m uiterclass mobility, especially
“upward mobility through occupation", an economy that
is maturing in many areas if suif formless in some others,
and that is regularized and stabilized without being so-

238 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

cialized, the decline in individualism and nonconformity,
in hard fact if not in happy slogan, the new gains of organ-
ized religion, the growing importance of groups mi
group action, a quickened interest in security, whether
won through savings, insurance, pensions, or law, the ever
widening diffusion of property, the pervading air of nos-
talgia and of deep satisfaction with our institutions, mid
consequent distrust of the untrammeled intellect, the dis-
crediting of the extreme Left for its flirtations with Com-
munism, and above all the pressures and irritations of hfe
in a country threatened, as was Burke’s England, by an
enemy armed with ideas as well as guns

Some of these facts and trends are primarily causes, oth-
ers are primarily effects of a resurgence of the Right
Taken together, they furnish incontestable evidence that
our season of conservatism has jet to run its course
Whether they are to be welcomed or resisted is not at
issue here Most Americans, one may assume, find some
of them wholesome, others frightening, and most inevi-
table At the end of Chapter VI, I rendered an account of
recent developments in the thinking of the Right, and here
I have sought simply to state my belief that massive
forces are canying these developments even further to-
ward self-conscious, self-confident conservatism

The concern of this book has been ideas rather than prac-
tices, and upon this concern it must continue to concen-
trate. Yet in America, as I have insisted, ideas arise out
of practices, and in all countries, as we have learned, a
conservative way of hfe must go before and shape a con-
servative pattern of thought The future of conservatism
as an intellectual force in America depends to an over-
whelming extent on the future of conservatism as a way of
hvmg, doing, and managing the affairs of men We have
already pointed to conditions that favor the further devel-
opment of political and social conservatism, and thus the
propagation of conservative ideas Let us now take note of
some possible obstructions m the way of these trends,
some practical difficulties that could come in time to de-
moralize the ranks of intellectual conservatism to such an

7UZ TU TU*C or AMUUCAN COMtUVATHU 1J9

tttcnt that iu summer soldier* might desert in droves to
the enemy on Ox, Left, Us Junicnwl campaigner* turn
inujnJ and seek refuge in a crabbed pseud ex-on serva-
ton, and its millions of followers bo left to fend for them-
J”* 1 '*? ^ lC1C " 15 * 400 fhctn, arc the outlines of the
broadly inauspicious situation that face* those who intend
to be thinking censers 4 In cs in tho years ahead

In the Erst place, they must continue to bear the burden
that such conservatives have borne at all times in all coun-
tries of tho West There are, that is to *ay , congenital dis-
abilities attached to the self-consciously conservative
position, and those who choose to stand upon it openly
must be prepared to suffer these disabilities bravely If it
u one of tho easiest dungs in the world to be a conserva-
tive of temperament or of possession or even of practice,
it 11 one of die hardest to be a conservative of die intellect
The man who makes a profession of conservatism opens
himself knowingly to charges dint his heart is callous,
hu spirit mean, his motive* selfish, and his thinking nega-
tive, that he is a friend in boast but a foe in fact of liberty
and justice. The reasonable man finds conservatism hard
to embrace because lie u asked to distrust reason, tho
kindly man because he must counsel paticnco in the face
of evil and suffering, the sensitive man because he expose*
himself to the slings of all the sentimental Left and the
arrows of all the reactionary Right. And when any one of
these men come* to argue the ease for political and social
conservatism, ho finds himself uncomfortably on die de-
fensive — branded a “reactionary* if he stands fast against
the proposals of the reformers, a "mc-toocr” if he admits
defeat with any show of grace He is almost always twenty
>ear* behind tho onward march of the nation, ho sings the
praises of traditions and institutions that were created in
the first place by progrcssiv cs, if not indeed by revolution-
aries Even when viewed in tho most favorable of lights,
h!s role in the struggle of social forces seems quite unin-
spired— and bangs hun few thanks from posterity or its
historians If tho essential mission of Toryism is, as Ma-
caulay insisted, die “defense of Whig achievements of the
previous generation,*’ it is not one for which many dianks

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

238

aa ZG ^’ decline m individualism and nonconformity,
in hard fact if not in happy slogan, the new gains of organ-
ize religion, the growing importance of groups and
group action, a quickened interest in security, whether
won rough savings, insurance, pensions, or law, the ever
wi emng diffusion of property, the pervading air of nos-
a gia and of deep satisfaction with our institutions, and
consequent distrust of the un trammeled intellect, the dis-
cr ting of the extreme Left for its flirtations with Com-
munism, and above all the pressures and irritations of life
m a country threatened, as was Burkes England, by an
enemy armed with ideas as well as guns

ome of these facts and trends are primarily causes, oth-
ers are primarily effects of a resurgence of the Right
en ogether, they furnish incontestable evidence that
° f CGnserval,sm has yet to run its course
issue ) tr w are to be welcomed or resisted is not at
nf 11 Amencans > °ne may assume, find some

table C ^ ° CS ? m f’ ol ^ ers frightening, and most inevi-
recent rl f Cnd Chapter VI, I rendered an account of
recent developments ,n , , . __

v-napter vx, i rendered an ac
I have r °? ments m *be thinking of the Right, and here
fo^r fl r!?l.^ to _ stat « "X belief that massive

forre« aro"" 6 "^ simply to state my belief that massive
ward self Can J ln S these developments even further to-
ward self-conscious, self-confident conservatism

tices and T ° I" been ideas rather than prac-

trate' Yet ^ concem ,l must contmue to concen-
of practices 1 j CnCa ’ 3S 1 ^ ave ms,stc d. 'deas arise out
conservative ^ 'r counlT, es, as we have learned, a
servahve °r ¥ e mUSt £° before and shape a con-

as an mtelle °/ t ^ OUS ^ t Th e future of conservatism
wbebuS S {0 T m Amenca depends to an over-
livmg, doing ° ^ fulure of conservatism as a way of
already poiSedf affairs of men We have

opment of^nu to I COnd,Uons that favor the further devel-
Propa^o/n Cil S0<aal ^^natism, and thus the

J5S5? rr bve idcas Let - n ° w taie ° f

some practical ddR^ 0 ” 5 * 111 thc way of theso tren *'

moralize the ranks f tles could come in time to de-
6 raDks of intellectual conservabsm to such an

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM 24 1

American conservatism is at best an ambiguous legacy

In the realm of action, as I have already indicated,
American conservatism has achieved both success and
failure The Sign of its success is the Republic itself the
great, free, strong America that stands before the world
as testament to the virtues — and follies— of democracy
and industrialism To this America the men on the Right
have made a tremendous contribution of energy, talent,
capital, and hope If they accepted democracy too eagerly
and interpreted its principles too nanowly, their accept-
ance saved our politics from much violence II they
snapped up the Liberal tradition too thoughtlessly, they
helped forge the unity of ideal that has been one of
Americas peculiar strengths If they wallowed too hap-
pily in the profits and power of industrialism, they built us
an economic system that has raised a whole people to ma-
terial dignity and furnished half a world with the weapons
and tools of freedom Only if America is a failure — a point
that few Americans would dream of conceding— can we
say that the men on the Right were a failure, too The
knowledge of all this should bring both comfort and inspi-
ration to American conservatives

There ore, however, a number of bad marks plainly vis-
ible on the conservative record The Right, after all, has
been our conservative half It has never denied its concern
that things as they are be left as they are, that our institu-
tions and values be guarded against change and revolu-
tion The que stion may therefore be properly put has the
Right performed the conservative mission with skill and
success? The answer would seem to be a rueful if under-
standing no

The conservative, whose duty it is to bnng stability to
the national community, stands accused of having contrib-
uted an excessive measure of instability, because of the
sloppmess of his thinking, the violence of his language, the
harshness of his individualism, and the hysterical attitude
he has too often adopted in the face of criticism and re-
form Arthur Schlesmger, jr , has remarked There are
always a stated number of days to save the American way
of life * He might have added that we are always at the

240

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

can even be expected In the game of life, for which
Stephen Potter has now codified many of the oldest rules,
the conservative is permanently “one-down” to the liberal
If this is not true in England, where Conservatism seems
to have found a special formula for political supremacy m
its devotion to the Crown and concern for the welfare
state, it is certainly true in almost any other democratic
country one can think of

One-down under the general conditions of progressive
democracy, the conservative may be as much as three-
down under the specific conditions of American democ-
racy The abundance, real and potential, of the economy
lends an air of feasibility to even the boldest programs of
social reform The visible signs of our inventive genius
ma e a m °ckery of the conservative's cautious hymns to
prudence and prescription The absence of conservative
traditions and institutions, especially of an identifiable and
socially useful aristocracy, makes it hard for him to group
ms forces for the struggle with the reformers The only
s gntly weakened grip of Liberalism on the Amencan
imagination gives his rhetoric an uncivil and even peevish
H”® v™ 111 future, as he has through most of the
pas , the creative conservative will continue to occupy that
unsure position m which he is at one and the same time
e c e sponsor of change in Amencan life, the chief Op-
ponent o the reforms that are needed to civilize it, and
B u e moumer * or the civilization that has gone for-
ct ow many Henry Fords, one is bound to wonder,
Am 3X356 m ) eari *° con, e and make over the face of
.f nCa an ^ t ^ len s ^ek to recreate the old familiar face
A 2 ™ u anbqUlt,es of a Greenfield Village?

0 6r 1 burden on the conservatism of the rising gen-
0n , ke the performance in the political and social
e cor -servatism of the generations that have
hmarJ t V* C * la P ter VII we took sober note of the
idea* xr Ufe ^ mencan conservatism in the realm of
of arh " e must bnefly at its record in the realm
avnur f n’ *° r sure ^>' no great movement, least of all one of
, « y conservative temper and purpose, can go about
ess as if the past had never been, and the past of

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM *4*

American conservatism is at best an ambiguous legacy

In tie realm of action, as I have already indicated,
American conservatism has achieved both success and
failure The sign of its success is the Republic itself the
great, free, strong America that stands before the world
as testament to the virtues — and follies — of democracy
and industrialism To this America the men on the Right
have made a tremendous contribution of energy, talent,
capital, and hope If they accepted democracy too eagerly
and interpreted its principles too narrowly, their accept-
ance saved our politics from much violence If they
snapped up the Liberal tradition too thoughtlessly, they
helped forge the unity of ideal that has been one of
Amenca’s peculiar strengths If they wallowed too hap-
pily in the profits and power of industrialism, they built us
an economic system that has raised a whole people to ma-
terial dignity and furnished half a world with the weapons
and tools of freedom. Only if Amcnca is a failure— a point
that few Americans would dream of conceding canvre
say that the men on the Right were a failure, too The
knowledge of all this should bring both comfort and inspi-
ration to American conservatives

There are, however, a number of bad marks plainly vis-
ible on the conservative record The Right, after all, has
been our conservative half It has never denied its concern
that things as they are he left as they are, that our institu-
tions and values be guarded against change and revolu-
tion The question may therefore be properly put has the
Right performed the conservative mission with skill and
success? The answer would seem to be a rueful if under-
standing no

The conservative, whose duty it » to bnng stability to
the national community, stands accused of having contrib-
uted an excessive measure of instability, because of the
sloppiness of his thinking, the violence of his language, the
harshness of his individualism, and the hysterical attitude
he lias too often adopted in the face of criticism and re-
form Arthur Schlesinger, }r, has remarked There are
always a stated number of days to save the American way
of life” He might have added that we are always "at the

2^2 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

crossroads,” even now "at die poult of no return While
it is the business of the conservative to warn us of threats
to the established order, the American conservative has
been notoriously inept at identifying real threats and eval-
uating their intensity He has chosen to be melodramatic
at just those moments in our history when he should have
"played it straight" and has injected into his often wise
counsels a quality of despair that has vitiated much of
their force The conservative who cnes “Wolfl Wolfl Rt
the sight of a rat is not a very useful fellow to have around,
and America has known this conservative much too well
The American conservative seems often to have forgot-
ten that social progress is itself a key element of social sta-
bility He has displayed some talent for "resisting reforms
that might smash or weaken the foundations of the com-
munity," but he has had small talent for "engineering re-
adjustments in the superstructure that can no longer be
put ofl without damage to the foundations” This defi-
ciency showed itself in his reluctance to offer attractive
alternatives to the positive programs of the New and Fair
Deals and to understand the cogency of the social de-
mands that had called these programs into being Ameri-
can conservatism, as Irving Knstol has pointed out, has
shown an “amateur helplessness before the specific prob-
lems of a dynamic industrial society ” It has left the field
of reform open to progressmsm, then has chosen, hke
Fafmr, to meet most reforming thrusts by mumbling irri-
tably

I Ites in possession.

Let me sleep

While the American conservative has worked overtime
in Ins speeches “to foster the spirit of unity among men of
all classes and callings,” he has been talking about unity on
his own terms This is, of course, a failing common to
conservatives— indeed, to all men who answer “unity
when asked for a solution to our social problems The for-
mula for unity is always devised m their favor, and they
are obstinate in the face of suggestions to alter it The
fury with which the Right fought the advance of organ-

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM 2 43

ized labor and the arrogance with which it has bulbed its
intellectual critics are two sorry instances of its Jailure to
weave a more meaningful unity out of the iversity

American life . , ,

No less distressmg, and destructive of the sense of c -
munity, has been the easy unconcern with which tne
Right has ignored evidence of widespread P ove ^£’ .
ferine, and dislocation, especially in hard times g

most members of the American Liberty f^ a S“ e
doubtless charitable toward the unfortunates w 0
close bes.de them, their literature, as Frederick Rudolph
has shown, was totally "devoid of any concern or
cial and economic dislocations of the 1930 s \ r

in mind of Orestes Brownson’s comment t ia a
Wellington is much more likely to vindicate the rights <*
labor tfian an Abbott Lawrence" Surely there has been
missing from Americas ruggedly individualistic ^consen^
hsm a strain of compassion for those who a\e
suffered The conservative has not always M
as it is He has ignored much of the P am , an , P . ^ siste d
no society has ever sufficiently eliminated,

-P™ JL nng d »b y the kg - J* - JJ

formance he imposes on himself Thi
conducive to social harmony ,

Another instance of practical failure. on ““

already dwelt, i, the sad record ol American m -
» "identifying and protecting Urf" - doubt of

munity" We are too materialistic a p p of our

that-and the flight is tw.ce-gmlty of ‘ , ^

cultural sms It failed to throw p wa y e 0 f in dus-

surge of materialism *>“' “ "^tllcs, search for profits,
tnalism, ,t took the lead ” ' om smtm ,ents, and

in cheapening our las es, vu g 8 - Most

dullrng our abihty to "distiuguish valu^trtm pa

pernicious of all is the m ^ made economic

economic means and ethical ^ ra , h „ „ n0 of sev-
mdividuabsm a way of life , freedom It is one

cal factor, m the Amencan J at ^
thing for the Right to urge ^ they are

sary to democracy, quite another to insist tna y

244 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

one and the same thing Under this heading we might call
attention again to the failure of our conservatives to warn
us moderately and persistently of our sins, weaknesses,
and imperfections They have either flattered us too much
or rated us too low Rarely have they judged us with the
proper conservative mixture of candor and compassion
The political performance of American conservatism,
for the most part the performance of the Republican
party, is full of soft spots Certainly the Right must assume
a large share of the blame for the corruption that streaks
our political process Certainly it stands accused of warp-
ing the Constitution of the fathers in U S v E C, Knight
Co (1895), Pollock v Farmers Loan and Trust Co
( 1 895)» Adkins v Childrens Hospital (1923). anc * H am ~
mer v Dagenhart (1918) Not only has it failed to create
a tradition of public service for itself, it has done far too
much, by word and deed, to discredit this idea wherever
it has struggled to be bom Senator Taft himself, not two
years before his death, warned the graduating class of an
Ohio college “to avoid government work as a career" The
extra measure of moral indignation that Ceorge Kennan
finds in our foreign policy, the worst excesses of tariff
legislation, the moral blindness of those who insist on the
identity of democratic socialism and Soviet Communism,
the lamentable abuses of the legislative investigating
power, the tensions and ruptures in the Republican Party,
above all the eagerness with which many persons who
should have known better encouraged the depredations
of Senator McCarthy on almost every institution from Har-
vard to the White House by way of the United States
Arm) these are major counts in the indictment of politi-
cal conservatism for lack of maturity, of high-mindedness,
and of the sense of mission

If to this bill of indictment we add the charge that was
made in Chapter VII— that the failure of the American
Right m theory was also a failure in fact — we are bound
to conclude that conservatism will cany a heavy burden
of faults and defaults into the indefinite future The fact
that liberalism has its own record of malfeasance and non-
feasance is, in this instance, beside the point The feckless-

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM 245

ness of American liberalism and irresponsibility of Ameri-
can conservatism do not, alas, cancel one another out The
Right cannot wipe the slate clean of its own sins with a
prudish recital of the sms of the Left
Nor can it exorcise the sharp political, social, and ideo-
logical divisions in the ranks of conservatism with a sar-
castic catalogue of the notorious divisions in the ranks of
progressivism In a country as large and richly varied as
the United States, a social movement of any size must of
necessity be a loose confederacy of other-minded inter-
ests rather than a tight union of hke-minded individuals,
and it is hardly necessary to point out that conservatism,
like progressivism, must bear the burden of variety and
dissent so long as it aspires to influence and authority in
the land It is, however, quite necessary to point out that
most spokesmen of the American Right, in their under-
standable delight over the rediscovery of conservatism,
have not yet faced up to the things that divide conserva-
tives even as other things unite them Although all gen-
uine American conservatives are united in opposing the
bright plans of men like Walter Reuther and Chester
Bowles for a new New Deal, they are divided from one
another, deeply if not hopelessly, by dozens of cross-cut-
ting incongruities in status, purpose, and principle In the
bustling camp of modem American conservatism there are
not merely "pseudos * and "ultras * and “middle-of-the-
roaders" and ev en "liberals," as well as Catholics and Prot-
estants, farmers and businessmen, and Republicans and
Democrats, there are primitives and sophisticates, extrem-
ists and moderates, clericalists and secularists, sentimental
agrarians and hard-headed industrialists, small business-
men and big businessmen, small-town boys and big-city
slickers, Spartans and Sybarites, protectionists and free
traders, poujadistes and expense-accounters, xenophobes
and xenophiles, McCarthyites and anti-McCarthyites (and
anti-anti-McCarthyites) , fighters of World War IH and
ever-hopeful Summiteers, cautious automobile dealers in
Keokuk and restless automobile producers m Detroit,
men who hite both change and reform and men who hate
only the latter, men on the way up and men on the way

246

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

down, men who enjoy National Reiiew and men who ora
enraged by it (and men who cannot even understand it),
men angrily unadjusted to recent events and men effort*
lessly overadjusted, men of wealth and men of modest
means and men of no means at all, and even, m the famous
words of an undoubted American conservative, men who
are “kennel dogs" and men who aro “bird dogs " A pro-
gram to which even a majority of conservative Americans
can subscribe with a will, a philosophy from which even a
majority can draw inspiration — these arc goals that the
wonderful variety of American life may have put forever
beyond the reach of the men on the Right They are
bound by every consideration of honor, self-interest
and history to drive steadily toward these twin goals, yet
there is no certainty, perhaps not even a probability, that
they can ever reach them

One division in the ranis of conservatism deserves spe-
cial mention, because it could easily become so angry a*
to wreck all hopes for a united and purposeful Right, if not
indeed for a united and purposeful America It has been
laid open to our sorrow and apprehension by the long-
gathering surge of the Negro minority, aided by powerful
a lies in the white majority, toward Justice and equal op-
portunity all over America but especially in the South
This division in the conservative camp is not exactly be-
tween the South and the rest of the nation, but between
Uie ultra-conservatism of the Southern die-hards and their
many well-wishers all over ■America and the moderate
conservatism, whether opportunistic or pragmatic or con-
science-stricken, of thoso who recognize that the Civil
ar was fought a full century ago The position of the
onner seems to be one of embittered obduracy, of the
tabk ° De reasonab, y gracious surrender to the mevi-

T ^ le J ^ outb 1S a humbling challenge to Americans of the
^ enler * ,s > both politically and morally, a teas-
ng dilemma for Americans of the Right As to politics, we
ee on y think of the thrust of this great issue of desegre-
ga ion into the aspirations and calculations of the Repub-
ean arty The urge to link up formally with the

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM 547

conservatism of the South is a powerful one, and many
‘■publicans look forward hopefully to the day when their
natural allies m the states of the old Confederacy march
out OTever from the crumbling fortress of the Democ-
racy Yet the urge to be a winner — not to mention the
urge to honor Lincoln — is even stronger, and some of
these same Republicans must wonder if a party that made
roomfor Senators Byrd and Eastland might not find .tself
gutted by wholesale desertion and doomed to anmhila-
on at the polls m the Northern states While the Demo-
cratic party is having its own troubles wrestling with the
problem of the South, there is little doubt that, as the
party of reform, it must come in time to a much harder
, e m Congress in behalf of desegregation — and no
oubt at all that the reaction of the Southern Democrats
Tlf 6 Se%ere anc * even parricidal
There is doubt, at the moment impenetrable doubt,
ow the middle-of-the-road Republicans will react to this
reaction, and surely it is the moral dilemma that will prose
hardest for them to resolve Expediency — the cold-
looded counting of votes and seats that could be won and
tost by any particular course of action — will not occupy
the field of decision unchallenged Principle — the con-
science-stricken recognition that the Negro should not
ha\e to beg, and fight for the ordinary rights of an Ameri-
can will surely make its claims upon the minds of many
conservatives And what then will be the right course for
American conservatism? How, indeed, will it be possible
for men to be conservative, in the usual sense of the word,

* such a situation? How can they preserve what is obvi-
ously not worth preserving? How can they defend a tradi-
tion that is both decayed and comipt? The fact is that
most of the familiar rules of conservative behavior be-
come inoperative in a situation so muddled and long-fes*
tenng as that now facing the American South and thus all
Americans The signals are off, and every conservative
must follow the simple dictates of hts conscience rather
than the muted commands of a tradition that, like any tra-
dition, can go just so far and no farther in giving a lead to
its adherents And conscience, as we know, can lead men

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

246

down, men who enjoy National Review and men who are
enraged by it (and men who cannot even understand it),
men angrily unadjusted to recent events and men effort'
lessly overadjusted, men of wealth and men of modest
means and men of no means at all, and even, in the famous
words of an undoubted American conservative, men who
are "kennel dogs“ and men who are "bud dogs " A pro-
gram to which even a majority of conservative Americans
can subscribe with a will, a philosophy from which even a
majority can draw inspiration — these are goals that the
wonderful variety of American life may have put forever
bejond the reach of the men on the Right. They are
bound by every consideration of honor, self-interest,
and history to drive steadily toward these twin goals, jet
there is no certainty, perhaps not even a probability, that
they can ever reach them

One division in the ranks of conservatism deserves spe-
cial mention, because it could easily become so angry as
to wreck all hopes for a united and purposeful Right, if not
indeed for a united and purposeful America It has been
laid open to our sorrow and apprehension by the long-
gathering surge of the Negro minority, aided by powerful
allies in the white majority, toward justice and equal op-
portunity all over America but especially in the South
This division in the conservative camp is not exactly be-
tween the South and the rest of the nation, but between
the ultra-conservatism of the Southern die-hards and their
many well-wishers all over America and the moderate
conservatism, whether opportunistic or pragmatic or con-
science-stricken, of those who recognize that the Civil
ar was fought a full century ago The position of the
onner seems to be one of embittered obduracy, of the
table ° nC reaSQnabl >’ S racious surrender to the mevr-

T ® outb 1S a humbling challenge to Americans of the
Center, it is, both politically and morally, a teas-
g 1 emma for Americans of the Right As to politics, we
ee on y think of the thrust of this great issue of desegre-
g ion into the aspirations and calculations of the Repub-
can arty The urge to link up formally with the

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM 2 49

tively Conservatism is heading into a period of acute dis-
comfort m which it will have to choose openly between
standpatism (that is, sulking in its tent), reaction (that is,
sinking the tent and marching angnly into the past), and
achvism (that is, stealing the clothes of the progressives)
This cannot be a happy prospect for men of genuinely
conservative temper and purpose Neither resignation nor
militancy nor experimentation is a natural posture or
conservatives

I do not mean to say that all these buidcns will be im-
possible for American conservatism to carry I have *| m P V
thought it important to point out that, while many jig y
visible developments in American society augur we or
the further growth of conservative sentiments among e
people, many other developments, some of them on y
vague in outline at the moment, are at the same ime
working to render many of these sentiments obsolete or
do I mean to say that conservatism has no future, a
the revival ot the past several years is a last glomus burst
to be followed by eternal night I have simply thoug 1
important to point out that this future may be S rin V aI ''
frustrating, and that fewer thanks than ever before wi
offered by history to the thankless persuasion

This has been an intentionally gloomy recital, and con-
servatrve, have every nght to ignore these warnings ana
buckle down with high spurts to the tasks ot the present.
Just what these are and how they should be tac e ax
matters for conservatives to decide without detai e a vi
from outsiders As the goals for American progressiv
cannot be set by conservatives, so the goals for
conservatism cannot be set by progressives ne
little nght, unless he is a convinced conservative ’

to go about preaching to conservatives how ey oug
behave ,

One does have a nght, however, to listen to ®
servabves as they debate loudly among themse ves
express a preference for one line of argumen ov
other One also has a right to judge the behavior and pm
grams and decisions of Amencan conservatism on

248

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

to every single point on the political and moral compass

It u not for me to say In this context just where the
conscience of millions of conservative Americans should
lead them I am concerned only to point out that the dme
of the Negro for consideration and opportunity will be an
ordeal by fuo for American conservatism However much
one might wish that tho leaden of the Right could join
together and do the right thing in terms of morality, his-
tory, justice, and national pnde, one Is bound to look with
foreboding on the course of tho ordeal Tho burdens of
American conservatism aro numerous enough without the
addition of )ct another of apparently crushing propor-
tions

And yet even this burden may prove light compared
with those that must now be shouldered by all of us, con-
servatives and liberals and radicals alike, as we move into
a fantastic future The creation of ghastly weapons of an-
nihilation, the harnessing of new sources of energy, tho
rapid nse in population, tho even moro rapid rue m the
material expectations of this population, the drive toward
automation, the reach into space, tho collectivizing of
communications, the ceaseless war on disease and poverty
and consequent promise of gerontocracy, the first crude
beginnings of weather control, abovo all the progressive
deterioration of what little order the world could once
show these are only a few of tho ingredients of a situa-
tion in which memory, habit, and tradition may no longer
be viable entena for action, and in which the social proo
ess has accelerated to a paco that makes it almost impos-
sible for conservatives to practise their ordinary arts It is
tnie that a certain kind of conservatism feeds — and has
oftMi enough fed well — on revolutionary situations, but
evidence mounts that the situation Into which we seem to
be heading irrevocably will be so qualitatively different
rom any ever experienced by men on earth that consent-
a sm of any kind will be choked to death on a glut of deci-
sions Even if we look no more than twenty years ahead,
we are swamped m imagination with vast social problems

at will have to be handled boldly, creatively, ingen-
iously, even hereheally — and thus anything but conserva-

THE TltTORE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM 2$1

taxes It cannot listen to the querulous advice of the sen.
hmental Luddites, for, in the words of Whittaker Cham,
bers, a man much admired by tittra-consen atives, *'A
Conservatism that cannot face the facts of the machine
and mass production, and its consequences in government
and politics, is foredoomed to futility and petu/ance "
While it tnes to bring the excesses of the ultra-conserva-
tives under control, it must not follow the primrose path
of undisciplined Tory democracy If its Goldwaters must
be made to see the impossibility of reversing history and
its Buckleys made to see the essential radicalism of their
total war on the New Orthodoxy (limited war is certainly
authorizcdl), its Rockefellers must leam that Disraeli’s
ironic formula for successful conservatism — “Tory men
and Whig measures"— comes out as just another brand of
ptogressivism The middling position is never easy to oc-
cupv , not least because there arc no sure theoretical land-
marks that help men to find it, yet this position, located
flexibly somewhere between unadjustment and over-ad-
justment to the imperatives of the new America, is the
one in which conservatives can best serve the nation and
themselves Once again we are reminded how important
and yet thankless is the task of genuine conservatism
Third, the conservative movement must find its center
of gravity, if by no means all its spokesmen and leaders, »n
the business community and its allied professions This
raises, to be sure, hard questions about the character and
purpose of American conservatism, for nothing could be
less “conservative” in the broadest sense of the word
than the restless versatility of American industry, nothing
could be less “aristocratic" than the elite that runs it And
if it is not quite as true in America today as it was in his
England, still there is a core of persistent validity in Sam-
uel Johnson's observation-

A merchant s desire is not of glory, but of gain, not
of public wealth, but of private emolument, he is.
therefore, rarely to be consulted on questions of war
or peace, or any designs of wide extent or distant
consequence.

250

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

terms, above all to hold conservatism to the broad stand-
ards it insists on setting for other men. If, for example,
conservatives find “extremism” to bo one of the besetting
sins of progressivism that all honest progressives should
eschew, then they cannot cavil at criticism from the out-
side when they themselves go off the deep end.

It is in this cautious and, I trust, scrupulous spirit that
this book turns aside briefly from its charted course to ex-
tend a few pieces of practical advice to the men on the
Right Thu is not a program for “taming" the conservative
urge, for making it more “gracious” and “responsible" and
thus, m effect, “liberal,” but for directing this persistent
and socially necessary urge into channels of behav lor and
decision where it can flow with maximum benefit for the
whole nation Let nothing in this small sermon be con-
strued to mean that conservatism should be anything other
than conservative in spirit and influence

Thu u certainly the tenor of the first piece of advice,
which is that American conservatism should be even more
self-consciously conservative than it has been in the past
several years Men who are conservatives should think of
themselves as conservatives, call themselves conserva-
tives, and act like conservatives — even if this means losing
friends and alienating people They must be conservatives
o the intellect as well as of temper and possession, con-
servatives out of principle as well as out of habit or sloth
0I , 631 T he y -ust understand what conservatism is and
W y it should exist, they must bo aware of the conserva-
ive mission and be ready to pursuo it In short, they must
go to school with both their spokesmen and critics, and
, ’ however painfully, to be real conservatives
. ,f COnd ' „ conservative movement must come in tune
row off or at least bring under control several of the
eccentric or irrelevant brands that now profess to speak
>n i name It cannot admit the pseudo -conservatives to its
councils, for il„ s „ el - with men who me

jns as much spoilers of democracy as are dedicated Com-
for^h * 11 cant »ot give over leadership to the pouiadistes,
anew S ** l ° esca P e m to a never-never land where the
er o every social problem is very simply “Cut

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM 2 $3

m self-government and toward centralized, uncontrollable
bureaucracy " No one has paid less heed to Bobngbroke’s
wise counsel, delivered before the American Revolution
“It »s certain that the obligations under which we he to
serve our country increase in proportion to the ranks we
hold, and the other circumstances of birth, fortune, and
situation that call usi to this service " The conservative
businessman must therefore take special pains to recog-
nize the new dimensions of government, and perhaps
even to act on David Lilicnthals warning “that a moral
obligation to enter the public service during a part of
every qualified man's best years has become, for die gen-
eration that lies abend, an actual necessity ”

Service in government can take many forms, ranging
from one term on a school board or membership on a Presi-
dent's commission to several terms as a district attorney or
a lifetime in the Department of Commerce Whatever
kind and length of service he chooses, the conservative
businessman must adopt a new attitude toward govern-
ment This attitude calls for concern about the wages and
conditions of public office, familiarity if not always agree-
ment With proposals for strengthening the civil service,
and understanding of the great truth that successful state-
craft is not “just a question of applying business methods
to government” It calls, first of all, for abandonment of
the campaign of fierce anti-statism that has served the
nation ill and the conservative not half so well as he
thinks

Conservatives have performed far more faithfully and
skillfully m a related area of public service sponsorship
and leadership of voluntary associations association

for charitable, cultural, economic, or social purposes is
America’s characteristic institution It ensures progress be-
cause it pools the hopes and talents of free individuals
and breeds natural leaders, it bungs stability because
it balances the American ideal of self-reliance against the
universal urge for communal association, ,t defends
liberty because it serves as buffer between man and gov-
ernment, doing things for him that he cannot do for him-
self and must not let government do for him Conservative

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

252

Yet if the “merchants" — by which I mean the manag-
ers, financiers, advisors, and auxiliaries of American busi-
ness and industry — are not to be consulted on the great
issues of our tune, who then will express the conservative
point of view? And if they are not supported by political
allies at the centers of public authority, what outlets will
theji find for the vast power that is undoubtedly theirs?
It will always be an imperfection in American conserva-
tism (if a blessing to America) that it has a business com-
munity rather than a landed interest or priesthood or mil-
itary class as its natural social base, yet an imperfect con-
servatism that reflects the realities of the distribution of
power in a society is greatly to be preferred to some purer
brand that reflects only the eccentricities of a cave-full of
Adullamites Whatever may be the hopes of men ld-e
Donald Davidson and Richard Weaver, the fact 1$ that
American conservatism must, first of all, enlist and serve
the interests of American business or abdicate responsi-
bility for the future of the Republic The businessman
may be exhorted and implored and perhaps even edu-
cated, but he cannot be ignored or despised — not so
long as he remains, in Howard Bowen’s words, “the cen-
tral figure in American society — the symbol of our cul-

At the same time, the conservative businessman can no
longer afford to ignore or despise his natural allies in poli-
tics and government He, too, must recognize the realities
of Amenean society, and no reality seems harder for him
to recognize than the permanence of the shift in the pat-
tern of power in this country from the private area to
* j P“khc, from the economic arena to the political, from
individual man to organized groups and beyond to the
state He can no longer afford to act as if the state did not
or should not exist The state is here to stay, and his very

rst uty is therefore to help American conservatism to
create and honor a tradition of pubhc service at all levels
th m f ncan government No one has contributed more

an the conservative businessman, a doctrinaire anti-
t a w ^ a t Drucher describes as the trend "away

rom the active, responsible participation of the citizen

THE FCTCiK 07 AMERICAN CONSERVATISM

*55

caD, with seme reservations, a spirit of noblesse oblige in
Amencaa busmesx. Yet we may look forward hopefully
to a steady growth m the Dumber of businessmen who arc
geaimeh concerned about the welfare of their workers,
dot to the social implications of their decisions, sobered
by the thought that they wield public rather than private
power, and annous to prove that American capitalism is
savant rather than master of American democracy
American conservatism, I repeat, will not flourish un-
less it appeals to the leaders of business The claims of
these leaders to respect and power will not be honored
tnless they serve the public in the spirit of a conservatism
on£ntc d to the new facts of life in America Only through

great tradition of public service in government, com-
and vocation will America's valuable plutocracy
become at last an invaluable aristocracy — an aristocracy,
me must hasten to add. of an American cut and therefore
ca “ed by some other name

One might offer all sorts of other detailed advice to
^reoicaa conservatism — for example, about how to maui-
kto the sound dollar or when to use its great influence in
*be field of education or why the present two-party system
on S“t to be maintained as long as possible — but that
would tale me far beyond the necessary limits I have
toiposcd on this bool. I have gone beyond them on this
oie point cf a new attitude toward the roles of both gov
^tonent and business because it seems to me to be e
beginning of conservative wisdom in modem America.
^ because, m any case, it calls for as much readjustment
m conservative theory’ as in conservative practice
One final word and w e shall return to the w orld o 1 *

“4 dut is nmplv to remind Atocnem consei.aBsm o! ns
b'gh duty to mamtam its histone Inks with -
bbcralum The glory of our politics has been the
bruty into which most of the dissensions and
ments of a diverse people have been £n a v *-

Comma!., 1 u£aLm.

have corn. icely for ascendancy m tae '' , ^

arena, yet me amed on the

have their _-ts i European countms.

254 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Americans will continue to associate in conservative
groups for conservative purposes, but we may hope that
they will understand more clearly the social significance
of their activities, and that their conservatism will show
respect for groups formed for liberal or even radical pur-
poses As he does his part in a half-dozen associations,
ranging from the chamber of commerce to the community
chest, the American conservative must keep the public
interest uppermost in mind He must never forget that
the terms of his mission require him to be the special
guardian of social unity

The man-hours devoted to government and community
by most conservatives will still be only a tiny fraction of
those they devote to “making a living ” Since the typical
American conservative, new or old, makes his living as
businessman, we are brought up against the interesting
question to what extent is business a public service? This
question, in turn, leads to others what kinds of power do
business leaders wield? Do corporations have social re-
sponsibilities bejond those fixed by law and contract?
What, specifically, are their responsibilities to stock-
holders, workers, consumers, associates, competitors,
chanties, education, local community, nation? How much
should they be concerned about canons of public taste,
the level of public morality, the state of civil liberty? What
may society properly ask of the leaders of business in
knowledge, character, conduct, and accountability? Is
business becoming a profession? And if it is, what are its
standards, principles, fair and unfair practices, traditions,
self-regulating devices, specialized knowledge, and social
justification?

These questions are not going to be answered by one
man or one book The most I can do here is raise them for
consideration and, at the same time, take note of the re-
markable progress in the social thought and practice of
American business over the past twenty or thirty years
Much of this progress has been achieved under duress,

ut much, too, because many businessmen have willingly
assumed new responsibilities commensurate with old
powers We are stall far from developing what one might

*57

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM

somehow an unconservative impulse, and the steady pur-
suit of this intention carries men dangerously far from that
simple piety and patience, that reluctance to poke a fin-
ger into the "cake of custom," which are the essence of
the conservative point of view There are at least a few
grams of truth in the smug observation of the canting
liberal that a conservatism in search of clear-cut principles
is a conservatism already in full retreat
The intellectual climate of the United States, we have
also learned, works to magnify the dampening effects of
these inherent disabilities The benevolent tyranny of
Liberalism over the American mind has been shaken but
hardly dissolved by the events of the past quarter-cen-
tury.-and conservatives must go on making the best peace
they can with an essentially restless and revolutionary
consensus of ideas The continuous intrusion of all man-
ner of new institutions and arnngements and even "tradi-
tions" mto the generally accepted pattern of American
existence puts a severe strain on the conservative phi-
losopher in search of the society he wants to ra-
tionalize and defend. In the abstract the conservative is a
nun who announces that this, the here and now, is the
best of all possible worlds, in the concrete he is a man for
whom this simple formula means one surrender after
another to the whimsicalities of change and aggressions of
reform Unwilling to surrender, )et buffeted by the dizzy
pace of events, he is forced to be more and more selective
about those events of the past and institutions of the pres-
ent he will choose to celebrate, and how much venera-
tion can a man display, vve are bound to ask, when he
really puts his mind to work in this analytical manner?
When a conservative once decides, as many articulate
conservatives seem to have decided in explosive America,
that his best of all possible worlds was here yettenby and
is gone today, he begins the fateful move toward reaction
and ratiocination that turns him from a' prudent tradi-
tionalist into an angry ideologue What history shall I
venerate? What traditions shall I uphold? What institu-
tions shall I protect against the reformers? — these are

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

256

kind of bloodless civil war. Each has seemed to under-
stand the reason for the other’s existence, each has re-
fused to drive its natural antipathy for the other so far
as to loosen the bonds of the great consensus that knits
all Americans together. It may therefore be hoped that
conservatism will pay no heed to those few shnll voices
in its camp that insist on identifying American progressiv-
ism with Communist radicalism and on finding the devils
of modem existence in the social reformers of constitu-
tional democracy. In the wise words of a genuine Ameri-
can conservative, Frederick D Wilhelmsen-

Conservatism — in simple justice if not in chanty
— must cease blaming latter-day liberalism for all
the evils of the times, conservatism must respect the
histone role of liberalism and the social conscience
of the age

Liberalism, needless to say, has exactly the same duty
toward conservatism It must cease blaming the new con-
servatism for all the continuing inequities of our common
existence, it must respect the histone role of conservatism
as the bulwark of social order But this is a sermon to con-
servatives, not to liberals — although they need saving, too
— and the burden of it is to warn the men on the Right
against a politics of fear and anger that divides America
at the very time when unity in the face of totalitananism
is so desperately needed For neither the self-styled "lib-
eral' who thinks Eisenhower is a “heartless reactionary"
nor the self -styled “conservative" who thinks Kennedy
is "no better than Khrushchev” can America now afford
to show much sjmpathy Such men, it would seem, see
us already divided into Disraeli’s ‘two nations,” and for
that vision of America the conservative, before all other
men, must express his peculiar loathing

The task of developing a viable theory could prove as
difficult for American conservatism as the task of practis-
ing a successful politics In this matter, too, conservatives
must operate under severe disabilities The mere irutew*
tior to spin out a full-bodied theory of conservatism is

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM

and 1930’s should have taught us what to expec
who exchange thinking for sloganeering an
opportunism American conservatism must ta e e
Whitney Griswold’s warning that it is no more po
to conduct affairs of state without reference to pohticat
philosophy than it is to do business without money
conservative revival will do more harm than goo u
it can arouse and be aroused by an earnest a ven

^°We shouhbneither expect nor desire this adventure to
appeal to more than a fraction of American cons ^'

Political thinking is not done by multitudes t is. *

often done ior multitudes. and d the great body of con
servaftves ,s to be led .n t.nro to assumptmns, punerp «.
myths, and slogans that are more expressive
and less subnets, ve of ranonal publ.e debate, pol.t.eat
theory must point out the way . „ y

The question then arises which way is
one of the several competing school or ^ at .

American conservative thought prov 1 P f

tractive line of general principle »'“S, "'‘‘f’ . 'ttor in-
the Right may work toward specific solub b(j

tellectual problems? This, too, is a ques ^mselvcs,
ult.matcly F answered by con f erV ^, J-and begs the
Jet it is also one that claims the a ^ Let me

advice— of all students ol the Amen “ . m tam

give my own morel, suggestive rrnswer by loobrng
at each of die smetal poss.bte uhoj«^ „ v en

The first is pure Am “ ,C f““ “Lranlsofthn>l.-
iv hen it can find no earnest a v j conscience of

mg conservatism, s„ll presses „ E.senhone, or
tho Right In the campmfg*^ majr sUll hcar (in a
the pulpit rhetoric ot a vQice of Jefferson speak-

garbled version, to be su ) reasoning democracy

ing of perfectibility, PJ®fi r * add> b ut one may not—
One may hear it, I am tempt longer with much

if one is conservative— rouse t {e J doubts of the

enthusiasm The man w liberalism repeats

SusTisSS ° [ — 1

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

258

hard questions for conservatives, and the answers may
be as numerous as the men who make them

Perhaps the hardest question each conservative thinker
has to answer is whether his meditations should be di-
rected toward the limited goal of creating a consciously
conservative theory or the broader possibility of restat-
ing and thus even of capturing the American political
tradition Many conservatives are so dedicated to con-
servatism or so skeptical about their chances of breaking
the stranglehold of Liberalism that they seem content to
work out a set of principles that, as it were, write off the
Left and give exclusive service to the Right Many others,
however, seem to think it both strategically and intrinsi-
cally the wiser course to aim at a fresh, sober, no-nonsense
version of the old tradition designed to bring inspiration
and comfort to all save those on the 'lunatic fringe” at
1 ither end of the political spectrum To an outsider who
Wishes conservatism reasonably well the former course
seems more honest and likely to pay dividends in the mar-
ket place of ideas, the latter more prudent and likely to
win points in the arena of power The choice, m any case,
is for each conservative thinker to make for himself, and
we should not be surprised if many make it by dying to
have the best of both worlds

The choice whether to think at all, that is, whether to
wrestle purposefully with age-old problems of political
and social theory, has already been made for these men
The mission of modi m conservatism is too urgent, the
gamble on democracy too imperative, the pace of Ameri-
can life too swift for men to put all their trust in intui-
tion, habit, and opportunism Surely it is the solemn duty
of conservative men of learning to hammer out a political
theory for the use of conservat-ve men of affairs and for
the inspiration of conservative men of routine Whatever
arguments have been advanced to rationalize the past
failuies of American conservative thought they are no
longer valid, if indeed they ever were The conservative
successes of the 1790s should have taught us what to
expect of men whose program is grounded in a tough,
coherent theory The conservative failures of the 1890s

THE FUTURE Of AMERICAN CQNStRVACISM

and Hoover The slow tempering of the individualism,
a solubsm, optimism, and materialism of the old tradition
° 1 p ame S 16 an d Field has produced a distinctly more
liable kmd of philosophy for the Right The new empha-
sis on tradition, prudence, realism, and conscious con-
servatism has given it a toughness it sorely lacked Yet it is
now such a hodge-podge of conflicting isms, including an
overdose of opportunism, that it will have to be rebuilt
from the ground up if it is to be of any use to men who can
trunk for themselves

The Conservative tradition is, in its own wav, as super-
ficially appealing a solution to the problems of the Amen-
uan Right as Is the Liberal tradition, and it does not lack
for advocates who are explicitly or implicitly Burkean to
the core What American conservatism must do, say these
diagnosticians of our spiritual and intellectual ills, is to
embrace Conservatism in all its splendor, to desist from
whoring after the false gods of Jefferson, Bentham, and
Mill and turn back to worship in the temple of Burke,
Colendge, and, if Americans insist, John Adams The
American conservative must become a Conservative

This, ft seems to me, is especially bad and useless ad-
vice — bad because it ask* the conservative to commit
political suicide, useless because what it asks is m reality
♦^conceivable America is different, both m histoi y and
present state, and the full Conservative tradition simply
Will not flourish on this sod We shall continue to harbor
Conservatives, and they will continue to serve us well as
critics of taste, manners, and culture We shall continue to
honor many articles of the Conservative tradition in
theory and many more in practice, giving to each the
necessary Americanizing twist Our conservatives, let us
pray, will see the necessity of being a little less Liberal
in speech and a little less radical m action In time we
may come to a clearer understanding of British and Euro-
pean Conservatism and a more profitable exchange of
ideas with its chief spokesmen Certainly the political
theorists of the American Right should study Conserva-
tism with care. They should decide which principles to
accept, which ones to amend, which ones to reject. It

26 o

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

servahves and thus finds it impossible to oppose radical
reform either shrewdly or bravely The consen'abve
pndes himself on his realism, but no realist can cling to the
quiet optimism of Jefferson m the face of the twentieth
century The evidence is overwhelming, certainly if in-
terpreted at all conservatively, that men are not perfect-
ible, that progress is not inevitable, and that democracy,
however cherished, is not exactly a government of ‘rea-
son and truth ” “Innocent Liberalism” does not even look
well on the liberals these days, as men like Reinhold Nie-
buhr and Arthur Schlesmger, jr, never tire of reminding
their friends, and conservatives certainly no longer have
any excuse for posing patriotically m the old colors This
is surely not the path to new wisdom for American con-
servatives

Neither is that special brand of Liberalism — or was it
really a decayed form of Conservatism? — we have called
“laissez-faire conservatism" Whatever they may have
been in the nineteenth century, the doctrines of Field
and Sumner are nothing better than an upside-down Marx-
ism in the twentieth The crisis of American life is moral,
cultural, and political rather than economic in character,
and no solution to it is likely to be found in so thoroughly
materialistic a Mew of life A philosophy that compre-
hends man as essentially an economic unit tells us noth-
ing about how to deal with either his lower passions or
higher aspirations, a philosophy that views society as a
bearpit of struggling individuals is an open door to the
engulfing state And a philosophy that assumes govern-
ment to be inherently corrupt and corrupting paralyzes
those who must act in the real world of old-age benefits,
unemployment insurance, fair-employment practices, and
credit controls— or else drives them to schizophrenia
It is the advocates of unreconstructed laissez-faire con-
servatism, more than incidentally, who have fallen with
the loudest crash into Khrushchev’s clever trap, which
frames the contest between him and us as one very simply
between socialism and capitalism.

A g rest deal mere can be sard for the up-to-date version
of laissez-faire conservatism expounded by men like Taft

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM 2.6l

and Hoover The slow tempering of the individualism,
absolutism, optimism, and materialism of the old tradition
of Carnegie and Field has produced a distinctly more
viable kind of philosophy for the Right The new empha-
sis on tradition, prudence, realism, and conscious con-
servatism has giv en it a toughness it sorely lacked Yet it is
now such a hodge-podge of conflicting isms, including an
overdose of opportunism, that it will have to be rebuilt
from the ground up if it is to be of any use to men who can
think for themselves

The Conservative tradition is, in its own way, as super-
ficially appealing a solution to the problems of the Ameri-
can Right as is the Liberal tradition, and it does not lack
for advocates who are explicitly or implicitly Burkean to
the core What American conservatism must do, say these
diagnosticians of our spiritual and intellectual ills, is to
embrace Conservatism in all its splendor, to desist from
whoring after the false gods of Jefferson, Bentham, and
Mill and turn back to worship in the temple of Burke,
Colendge, and, if Americans insist, John Adams The
Amencan conservative must become a Conservative

This, it seems to me, is especially bad and useless ad-
vice — bad because it asks the conservative to commit
political suicide, useless because what it asks is in realuy
m conceivable America u differ t nt, both in history and
present state, and the full Conservative tradition simply
Will not flourish on this soil We shall continue to harbor
Conservatives, and they will continue to serve us well as
entics of taste, manners, and culture We shall continue to
honor many articles of Hie Conservative tradition in
theory and many more in practice, giving to each the
necessary Americanizing twist Our conservatives, let us
pray, wall see the necessity of being a little less Liberal
m speech and a little less radical in action In time we
may come to a clearer understanding of British and Euro-
pean Conservatism and a more profitable exchange of
ideas with its chief spokesmen. Certainly the political
theorists of the Amencan Right should study Conserva-
tism with care They should decide which principles to
accept, which ones to amend, which ones to reject. It

26a

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

would, however, be the greatest of follies and crudest of
delusions to shape the philosophy of American conserva-
tism in the full image of Conservatism The Conservative
tradition speaks much too bluntly and almost joyfully of
the wickedness of man, the futility of social effort, the
fallibility of reason, the excellence of aristocracy, the
primacy of the community, and the capnee of democ-
racy — not to mention the wrongness of science and in-
dustrial progress To accept this tradition unreservedly is
to reject the Liberal tradition flatly, and thus to move out-
side the mainstream of American life The task of the
Right is to produce a political theory that is both con-
servative and American This task will take some doing
It calls for creation and integration, not imitation, it may
call for a revival of Adams, Hamilton, Calhoun, Madison,
and the conservative Lincoln, but surely not for a whole-
sale importation of Burke or de Maistre

What disqualifies our Conservatives finally as suitable
adv isors in the realm of political ideas is the depth of their
contempt, sometimes outspoken and always dl-conccaled,
for Liberalism If this is not true of men like Viereck,
McGovern, English, and Hallowell, it is most certainly
true of men like Kirk, Harngan, Niemeycr, and Weaver-
winch may be one way of saying that the latter are the
only ical Conservatives now writing in America The
trouble is that they arc too "real,” that they hav e become
so passionately attached to the resurgent tradition of Con-
servatism that they find themselves in a state of all-out
war with Liberalism — and thus, in fact, with the Ameri-
can tradition Against such behavior we can cite no law,
but we can certainly brand it reckless, imprudent, and
indeed “unconservativc” America, I repeat, has been a
progressive country with a Liberal tradition One may
seek to slow down progress, but not despise it, one may
question the bright promises of Liberalism, but not de-
fame them The academic Conservative who debates with
Liberals as if they were utopian socialists, like the pohti-
cil conservative who contends with progressives as if
they were totalitarian radicals, takes himself outside the
rules of the game as it has been played in America Tho

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM 2 3

Conservative who lowers an iron curtain between

tone and Liberalism re, eats the American tradihon flouB

American history, and puts on the distressing-dare 1 say

"„„-Amencan"?-look of an ideologue

like Niemeyer who judges Liberalism laclusi y

of what he calls its “logical conclusions ™‘ tes

,0 judge Conservatism ,n the same mfnagfy

reahstic terms, the Conservative He Jerk who

the Liberal as a mm who “hungers after a state hU a

tapioca-puddmg" mv.tes descnphon as one whose per

feet state is a haggis _ . nhilosonhv

Where then can the conservauve tun for *
of American consenahsm, a philosop f
order, and preservation ho,

-personal as I well as^ocm f ^ a phllosoph y

progressive society? me an iwe n any

Ly already be in the m*h»g ^ ’ booV ^

for the great body ot America , and tf^t our

are ready for it, but that itj bemg ^ ^ J 0 „ge, b „

conservatives are being ed self-conscious con-

doubted Out of the gropmgs anU-Liberal stric-

servausm of Taft and Embower. Jh« “ rf He

tores of Viereck and HaUoweU, tf« r new ew ^ ^
Amencan tradition by b ] synthesis by Au-

th= attempt at a 'and die second

gust Heckscher and Ku ”'“ J, „d Crmo Bmton
thoughts on democracy uLwhts on Liberalism of

-Jen out of the second 0 f Kuk

Niebuhr and St ^ en *?° toue i 1 viable consensus of Amen-
and Buckley-a broad, tough. ^ (o be slow]y emerging
can conservative P™“P^ 0[e „ Btnb uting to it are

and taking form The men ^ from rcactJ0 n to

spread along the jectnn » P. rf philosophy ton

hberalism, and along ^Atany of diem aie not going

scholasticism *° He^s to which it will bo

to like the finished P"“ ’ 0B „[ „, e llcctual con-
put Some are P“f“'| BBVlc uon, others are speculating
servatism with intense cm

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

264

in general terms and letting the political chips fall where
they may, still others would be surprised and evert cha-
grined to be told that they were doing their bit in the
upbuilding of an authentic American conservatism Yet in
joining, according to their several natures and purposes,
m the reaction against Liberalism, all are helping toward
this end, and certainly these thinkers are no more numer-
ous, their points of view no more chequered and even
clashing, than the jumble of men and ideas that have gone
into the upbuilding of American Liberalism

It is, in any case, what unites rather than what divides
these men that makes them of particular interest to us
a broad identity of intellectual purpose and rather precise
identity of sources of instruction and inspiration Their
purpose, as I interpret it, is to work toward a political
faith, as old as it is new, that doubts but does not deny
the American tradition of liberty, equably, democracy,
and progress, and that gives Americans a better under-
standing of the kind of world in which they must hence-
forth live Their favorite sources are the conservatives
and moderates among the founding fathers Washington,
Madison, John Adams, and — with reservations — Hamil-
ton What seems to be taking place among intellectuals
of the Right and Center, and even among a few mavericks
of the Left, is a discriminating revival of the social, politi-
cal, and constitutional theory that justified the limited
upheaval of 1776, the prudent act of creation of 1787.
and the orderly, calculated gamble of 1789-1797* The
result is to inform the working principles of American
conservatism with that sure-handed grasp of the penis
and promises of popular government which found expres-
sion in the speeches of Washington, in the letters of
Adams, and above all in numbers 6, 10, 23, 37, 5 1 and
6a of The Federalist — and to inspire them with that age-
old tradition of civility and ordered liberty of which the
Constitution has been the bnghtest flower

It is impossible to fault these men on their almost unan-
imous choice of the prudent Federalists as the symbols
and sources of a revived and still reviving American
conservatism In looking hopefully to the past for comfort

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM 165

and guidance they behave like conservatives, m looking
to their own past rather than to that of any other country
they behave like Americans, and in celebrating men who,
for the most part, counted Jefferson as a fnend they keep
a door open to their brothers-m-hberty on the Left More
than that, they give both dignity and legitimacy to the
arguments of conservatism — dignity because ethics re-
places economics as the logic of their pattern of liberty,
legitimacy because this ethics (what Lippmann calls the
"public philosophy") is as close an approximation of the
eternal truths about popular government as men on earth
have ever worked out While The Federalist offers no
solutions to specific problems of the modem age, it does
provide a context of insight, principle, ethical judgment,
and mood within which men may pursue the conservative
mission with the greatest possible hope of success

These remarks arc not intended to mean that American
conservatism must direct its powerful urge for identity
with the past to one group of men m one fateful era It
has as much right as liberalism to use retrospect m the
search for a “tradition," and thus it may also pay homage
to such as Marshall, Calhoun, Webster, and Root It has
as much right, for that matter, to stake a claim to the com-
mon heroes of our past, and thus to celebrate the conserv-
ative virtues of Abraham Lincoln, that "melancholy Jef-
ferson * And surely it may look beyond statesmen to seek
Out poets, preachers, and — who laiows? — even business-
men as suitable candidates for its pantheon Yet there is
Something special — I repeat, dignified and legitimate —
about the message of the prudent federalists, who must
henceforth serve American conservatism as a land of
collective Burke It is fashionable among enbes of Ameri-
can conservatism to accuse men like Kirk and Viereck of
"stringing together ill-assorted names m an attempt to
invent a nonexistent conservative tradition ” The answer
to this accusation, it seems to me, is for conservatives to
confess to a vernal sm in which liberals also like to in-
dulge, to promise never again to put William Graham
Sumner to bed with Nathaniel Hawthorne, and then to sit
back and contemplate with pnde the conservative found-

266 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

ers of a liberal nation Whatever follies and irrclcvancics
may have filled the record of conservatism in the past
century, it scored a big enough triumph in the first won-
derful )caxs of the Republic to create a tradition that will
last as long as America

It would be presumptuous of me to draw a blueprint of
the conservative consensus that may emerge in the next
generation, especially smeo good conservatives, even
American ones, have a horror of blueprints I am willing
to predict that this rising faith will assume these general
outlines

It will be more candid about the nature of man than
American conservatism has been for more than a century,
for it will base all calculations and prescriptions on the
assumption that every man is an extraordinaiy mixture
of good and evil — of sociability and selfishness, of energy
and sloth, of reason and unreason, of integrity and cor-
ruptibility. of generosity and spite, of hopo and despair

It will be less sure of either the jojs or the certainty of
social progress, and it will Insist that reform be sure-
footed, discriminating, and respectful of tradition

It wall be more conscious of the dictates of universal
justice, and give new life to the concept of a higher law
as it was understood and proclaimed In the infancy of the
Republic

It will recognize anew man’s need for community, and
thus will place emphasis on the land of individualism that
leads free men to co-operate rather than to compete It
will call fresh attention to the web of groups — families,
neighborhoods, churches, corporations, unions, co-opera-
tives, fraternal orders — that we have spun between our-
selves and the vast pow^r of the state

It will free itself from cant about the nature of power
and the role of government It will rise above the easy
judgment that government is inherently arbitrary and in-
efficient, acknowledge that government has vital functions
to perform in an industrial society, and recognize that m
modem society there is as much danger in a vacuum of
power as m an overdose of it Still, it will continue to con-

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM 267

demn the credulous confidence of modem liberalism in
the ability of the state to set all things right

It will say things about liberty that American conserva-
tives have been much too reluctant to say that undis-
ciplined liberty can become an obsession destructive of
personal integrity and social order, that the rights of man
are earned rather than given, that every right carries with
it a correlative duty, and that private property lies near
the center of the structure of human liberty

It will say things about equality that conservatives
have been even more reluctant to say that men are equal
only in the sense that they must be treated as ends and
not means, that infinite variety exists among men in tal-
ent, taste, intelligence, and virtue, that the social order
should be organized in such a way as to take adv antage of
this variety, that equity rather than equality is the mark of
such an order, that the uncommon man, too, has a place
in the American dream

Most important of all, it will rethink and restate the
meaning, conditions, and limits of democracy While
the philosophers of American conservatism wiU remain
devoted fnends of democracy— -or perish morally and
politically — they will be the kind of friends who insist on
giving honest opinions and pointed advice They will pro-
ceed bravely from the conservative assumption that de-
mocracy is a much more demanding form of government
than Liberalism has led us to believ e The new conserva
tism will therefore reaffirm boldly the four great con 1-
tions that men like John Adams set upon the success o

free government ,

Democracy cannot exist apart from the spirit an orms
of constitutionalism If men insist on their eternal rig
govern themselves, they must govern through safe, so er,
predictable methods If the majority is to rule jus
must prove itself "persistent and undoubted on a
casions, prove itself extraordinary on speci oc »
and deny itself access to those areas where 1

dwells and the conscience pricks

Democracy cannot exist unless three *

'«ue, and property— are 'W*' 1 / a ”“8

:6S

CONSERVATISM tV AMERICA

the people, for knowledge is essential to wise decision,
virtue to unforced obedience, and property to personal
independence and social progress

Democracy cannot function at a level of excellence,
perhaps in these times at any level at all, unless it can
summon up and support skilled and prudent leaders m
every center of power in die gnat society.

Democracy is not and cannot be made a substitute for
religion, and lliose who worship it mvite their own do*
stmction To the contrary, American democracy cannot
exist for long apart from die spirit and forms of the
Judaco-Chnstian vision

These are only the bare bones of a reformed dicory of
American conservatism, and they will not rise and walk
about until Uie men who lead the Right evil on them for
help ui concrete political and social situations Even then
dicy will provide no unmistakable directions to nun who
must decide whether to raise or lower taxts, expand or
contract social security, deal or not deal with the Soviet
Union Rut they will provide, I repeat, an mlt Itcctual and
spiritual context within which the conservative mission
of the next generation may be pursued with vigor and
confidence Whether put forward as a revised version of
the common American tradition suitable for general con-
sumption, a fresh interpretation of the common tradition
designed primarily for conservatives, or simply a philos-
ophy of sc If -conscious American conscrv atism — and it will
doubUess be made to take on all three guises at oncel—
this bundle of idea* would stem to enjoy excellent pros-
pect* for an increasingly popular and useful future Fol-
lowing Crane Brin ton and several others, I would give it
the generic label of "pessimistic democracy" — "pessi-
mistic" because it raises bard questions about man, bberty,
equality, progress, and popular government and gives
them only paitly hopeful answers, "democracy" because,
for all the illusions it has cast away, it has no final doubts
of the practical and spiritual superiority of constitutional
democracy over all other forms of government that have
ever been tned or could ever be imagined Some adher-
ents of this faith seem to think that "realistic* or "tough-

Tm r “ TOIiE OF “M'™ CONSERVATISM ,6,

fion tf;!n ° r tVCn S H? t,ca *" mi ?Vt be a better desenp-

““”«*■ and * 11 Tb-rt » the sort if

conservative must male [or limisdf Mv
for him thl! **“»" hM fort about been made

ment A 3 US b'ends that tile conservative commit-
steadfact democrats must henceforth be "sober,

■ and dc r rc " ' V,A «■“ » >■■> time to abandon
shorn r P’. 'V* n ° bme to esaggerate its virtues and
cralTm * ' ri ' i ,S ftadicals, rtactionanes, and even lib-
, tt cont, niH. to wandtt into evtrinie positions in
nt tss scarc h for the consolations of philosophy , but
Watties have a special duty, now as always, to steer
C T SC between hope and despair, between
P r ion and reality Of all the isms that contest for tho
egiance of Americans, conservatism has least right or
eason to degenerate into mere ideology

nce a 8 aln vie arc reminded of the discomforts of be-
g a conservative, especially an American conservative
*>r fommitment to democracy means thit Liberalism
1 ma,nfatn Jts histone dominance over our minds, and
a tonservative thinkers will continue as well-kept but
creasinglv restless hostages to the American tradition
commitment to progress means that liberalism will
cep its role as pace-sutcr m the arena of politics, and
a ^ collscrvaf ‘ ve doers will continue to spend far too
tnuch of their time fighting the reformers and then adjust-
ing to their reforms Our commitment to greatness means
that America is becoming increasingly involved in a
revolutionary world in which a conscious pursuit of na-
tional purpose may be the price of no more than shaky
survival, and that all of us, conservatives and liberals and

Hon- joiners alike, may have to become revolutionaries
Ourselves, or bf treated as expendable Genuine conserva-
tives learn soon enough to bear the indignities of sub-
scribing to a thankless persuasion, but no men C3n be
expected to bear the shame of being declared irrelevant,
obsolete, and even subversive

We are still many years away from deciding whether,
under physical and intellectual conditions that even now
' we cat » barely imagine, we must nii_ct tho challenge of

270 CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

world-revolubon with a revolution of our own In the
meantime, there is work to be done, the -work of preserv-
ing and improving the American Republic, in which con-
servatives and liberals, not to mention reactionaries and
radicals, can join with a will. If conservatives have less
hope of glory — that is, of the thanks of posterity — than
liberals, they may none the less take comfort in the knowl-
edge that the free and orderly society would dash itself
to pieces without their restraining hand If they have less
hope of success — that is, of the thanks of their contempo-
raries — they may none the less take heart from the sur-
prising and beneficial results of the conservative revival
These results are especially visible at that level of Ameri-
can life on which this book has fixed attention the world
of principle, prejudice, insight, and argument, the world
of ideas To have refurbished conservottsm as a badge of
honor, to have awakened millions of men on the Right to
an awareness of their conservatism, to have disinterred
the Conservative tradition to serve as a standard of cul-
tural criticism, to have reminded all Americans of the
essential message of the founding fathers, to have con-
tributed to a broader understanding of American life, to
have toughened our dominant Liberalism for the hard
pull ahead, even to have suffered liberals who appropri-
ate the traditional wisdom of conservatism — this is a
record of which one short generation of American con-
servatives can well be proud

If their pride now persuades them to go forward with
the grand attempt to build a prudent conservatism
worthy of the giants of the past, all Americans may be
die gainers The knowledge that they had sobered the
American spirit without taming it, and thus had enlight-
ened the American vision without blinding it, would be
thanks enough for dedicated men of the thankless persua-
sion It is, in any case, for them to prove that conserva-
tism can be a healthy force in a restless country with
vast problems to solve, in an embattled country with vast
dangers to endure

BIBLIOGRAPHY

This bibliography aims at suggestion rather than exhaustion.
It is intended as an aid to fuxther investigation of American
conservatism, not as a full rendering of books, articles, and
other materials examined in the course of this study It
would have been a weary and largely superfluous task, to list
all the items that 1 read with profit and often with pleasure—
for example, the speeches of Burke and Calhoun, novels of
Disraeli and Sinclair Lewis, essays of Sumner and Agnes
Repphcr, opinions of Marshall and Field, poems of Coleridge
and Fessenden, and letters of a half-dozen Adamses I have
therefore pruned it of hundreds of titles and have added sym-
bols — B for bibliography, CB for critical bibliography, BN
for bibliographical footnotes — to those books or articles tn
which the reader may find useful listings of primary and other
sources I have been somewhat more expansive tn listing
primary works for the past twenty-five years

I I HE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION

Four books, quite varied in purpose and temper, furnish an
introduction to the giants of the Anglo-American Conservative
tradition F J C Hcamshaw Consetxofism in England
(London, 1933) B, Russell Kirk The Conservative Mii^
and ed (Chicago, 1954), B, Peter Viereck. Corum'atwm from
John Adams to ChurchiU (Fnnceton, 1956). R- J Nkhite, ed.
The Conservative Tradition (London, 1950) B A special
study of importance is Benjamin E Lippincott The Victorian
Critics of Democracy ( Minneapolis, 1938) Morton Auerbach
The Conservative Illusion (New York, 1959) B, despite the
narrow pedanticism of its definition of Conservatism and a faulty
reading of the message of several modern American conservj
fives, projects Coosurv atism all the way back to Pfato vn^
considerable skilL

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

272

Donald J Greene The Politics of Samuel Johnson (New
Haven, 1960), is persuasive enough to leave one wondering
if Johnson, rather than Burke, should not be hailed as the
Creat Source of modern Conservatism In addition to Burke
and Johnson, the pantheon of British Conservatism might be
extended to include Ceorge Canning, Thomas Carlyle, Lord
Randolph Churchill, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Benjamin
Disrath, John Keble, W E H Lechy, Sir Henry Sumner
Maine, W H Mallock, Cardinal Newman, Sir Robfrt Peel,
George Saintsbury, the third Marquess of Salisbury, Sir Walter
Scott, Robert Southey, Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, and
William Wordsworth. Two articles of Sheldon Wolin help to
extend (in time) and expand (10 range) the pantheon
"Richard Hooker and English Conservatism,” Western Political
Quarterly, VI (1953), 28, and “Hume and Conservatism,”
American Political Science Review, XLVIII (1954), 999

The literature of modem British Conservatism is plentiful
and enthusiastic This highly selective list contains the best
recent writings in the Conservative tradition L S Amcry
‘ Conservatism/ Chambers's Encyclopedia, new cd , IV, 29 B,
Arthur Bryant The Spirit of Conservatism (London, 1929),
R A Butler cf al The New Conservatism (London, 1955),
Sir Geoffrey Butler The Tory Tradition (London, 1957),
Lord Hugh Cecil Conservatism (London, 1912) B, David
Clarke The Conservative Faith in a Modem Age (London,
1947), David Clarke et al Conservatism, 1945-1950 (London,
1950). Walter Elliot Toryism and the Twentieth Century
(London, 1927), Keith Felling Toryism A Political Dialogue
(London, 1913), What Is Conservatism? (London, 1930), and
"Principles of Conserv atism," Political Quarterly, XXIV (1953),
129, Peter Goldman Some Principles of Conservatism (Lon-
don, 1956), Qumtin Hogg (Viscount Hailsham) The Case for
Conservatism (West Drayton, 1947). A M Ludovici A De-
fence of Aristocracy (London, 191s), and A Defence of Con-
servatism (London, 1927). Angus Maude et al The Cood
Society (London, 1953). Lord Percy of Newcastle The
Heresy of Democracy (London, 1954 ), Kenneth Pickthom
Principle* or Prejudices (London, 1943). T E Utley Essays
in Conservatism (London, 1949), and Modern Political
Thought (London, 1952), Pcregnne Worsthome "Democracy
v Liberty?,” Encounter, VI (1956), 5, “The New Inequality,"
Encounter, VI (1936). *4. and Conservative Thoughts Out
of Season," Encounter, XI (1958), 21 The Conservative
Political Centre in London is a fountain of tracts written is the

BIBLIOGRAPHY

273

Conservative spirit In addition to some of the books and
pamphlets already listed, see such examples as Great Conserva-
tives (1953), Tradition and Change (1954), The New Con-
servatism (i955). World Perspectives (igS5)» T he Responsible
Society (1959). and, from the pens of the gingennen known
as the 1 Bow Croup,” Principles m Practice ( 1961 )

More difficult to classify as Conservative but impossible to
overlook are T S Eliot’s influential The Idea of a Christian
Society (New York, 1940), as well as After Strange Gods
(New York, 1934), Notes toward the Definition of Culture
(London, 1948), and The Literature of Politics (London,
*9SS ), Hilaire Belloc The Servile State, 3rd ed. (Lon-
don, 1927), Colm Brogan The Democrat at the Supper
Table (London, 1945), Herbert Butterfield History end
Human Relations (London, 1951), G K Chesterton The
Outline of Sanity (London, 1926), Christopher Dawson
Religion and Culture (London, 1948). Christopher Hollis’s
Contributions to The Tablet, W R Inge Our Present Discon-
tents (New York, 1939), and England, rev ed (London,
»9S3), Douglas Jerrold The Necessity of Freedom (London,
1938), and Wyndham Lewis The Art of Being Ruled (New
York, 1926), and Rude Assignment (London, 1950) The
writings of Michael Oakeshott, especially his contributions to
the Cambrulge Journal ( 1947- *9S») — of which he was general
editor — and his inaugural lecture at London entitled Political
Education (1951), are, on several counts, in a class by them-
selves See Neal Wood “A Guide to the Classics Ihe Skepti-
cism of Professor Oakeshott." Journal of Pohhc*, XXI (i959),
647, Richard Wollheim “The New Conservatism in Britain, ”
Partisan Review, XXIV (1957), 539. which is a useful intro-
duction to both Oakeshott and Herbert Butterfield, Noel
Annan “Revulsion to the Right," Political Quarterly, XXVI

(1955). *U

If the glorious name of Sir Winston Churchill is surprisingly
absent from any of these lists, that is because the greatest of
twcnticth-ccntury Conservatives has steadfastly refused, for all
his literary skills, to reflect upon and then write down the
principles that have animated his career — thus proving himself
a genuine Conservative. For an interesting attempt to place
him in the line of Conservative descent, see Stephen R.
Granbard Burkr, Disraeli, and Churchill The Politics of
Pencil runcC (Cambridge, >961)

For Cauadian variation* on the Bntish theme, see Arthur
U. M Lower "Conservatism The Canadian Variety,” Con-

374

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

fluence, II (1953), 7*. A E Pnnce “The Meaning of Con-
servatism,” in Five Political Creeds (Toronto, 1938), Frank H
Underhill “The Revival of Conservatism in North America,"
Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, Lll, senes 3
(1958), ».

The Literature of modern American Conservatism Is not
quite so easy to identify, but certainly these items should be
on the list Bernard I Bell Crisis in Education (New York,
1950). and Crowd Culture (New York, 1952). Thomas I
Cook, untitled comments m Ifopktns Reoieto, Fall 1951,
Raymond English “Conservatism and the State,” Virginia
Quarterly Review, XXXII ( 1956), 50, and "Of Human Free-
dom,” Modern Age, III (1958-1959), 8, M Stanton Evans
"A Conservative Case for Freedom," Modern Age, IV (1960),
364. John Hallowell The Moral Foundation of Democracy
(Chicago, ig54). Anthony Harrigan ’Is Our Administration
Conservative?" Catholic World, April 1954, “Thoughts on the
Managerial Class," Frame Schooner, Summer 1953. a “d “Th e
Realities of the American Situation,” Catholic World, March
1957, Kirk The Conservative Mind B, A Program for Con-
servatives (Chicago, 1954) B, Academic Freedom (Chicago,
1955). Beyond the Dreams of Avarice (Chicago, 1956). Tros
fleets for Conservatives (Chicago, 1956), The American Cause
(Chicago, 1957), The Intelligent Womans Guide to Con-
servatism (New York, 1957), and “The Poet as Conservative,"
The Critic, Feb -March i960, Frank S Meyer ' Freedom,
Tradition, Conservatism," Modern Age, IV (i960), 355, and
his many contributions to National Review under the title
4 Principles and Heresies”, Robert A Nisbet The Quest for Com-
munity (New York, 1953), and “Conservatism and Sociology,
American Journal of Sociology, LVIII (195a). 167, Stanley
Parry “The Restoration of Tradition,” Modern Age V (1961),
135, Peter Viereck Conservatism Revisited (New York, 1949 ),
Shame and Glory of the Intellectuals (Boston, 1953), aQ d The
Unadjusted Man (Boston, 1956), a fair description of Professor
Viereck, Richard M Weaver The Ethics of Rhetoric (Chicago,
1953), Ideas tiave Consequences (Chicago, 1948), "Up^from
Liberalism,” Modem Age, III (1958-1959), 21, and “Mass
Plutocracy," Notional Review, November 5, i960, Francis G
Wilson The Case for Conservatism (Seattle, 1951), A
Theory of Conservatism,” American Political Science Review,
XXXV (1941), 29. “The Ethics of Political Conservatism,^
Ethics, LIU ( 1942), 35, and ''Pessimism in American Poll tics.
Journal of Politics, VU (1945), 125, Donald A. Zoll Con-

SJBLiOGRAPUY

275

“ d » Philosophy of Personality," Modem Age, IV
S»W» 160 In addition, one may find examples of Conscrva-
ve ught in almost every issue of those two short-lived
periodicals. The American Review (1933-7).

V Seward Colhas, and Measure (1949-50) The former
van re pository of conservative m usings of every possible
ety distributism, agrarianism, monarchism, neo-SchoIasti-
‘ sn *. guildum, crypto-Fascism, the New Humanism, tradi-
p° S£n ' ^h^ue republicanism, feudalism, and, unfortunately,
tancomo, See Albert Stone. "Seward Collins and the Amcn-
^ eview .” American Quarterly, XII (i960) 3 Modem
& e ’ a quarterly founded in 1957 by Russell Kirk and earned
0 by the Institute for Philosophical and Historical Studies, is
trune of antt-Liberal thought Since 1959 Modern Age
also earned "The Burke Newsletter,” an extremely useful
“to Burkean scholars

‘mcult to classify, but of the greatest importance in any
account of the upsurge of antl-Liberalism in a forceful
minority of American intellectuals. are the writings -of Leo
Strauss, especially Natural Right ami History (Chicago, 1953).
/ru, ^ nc v °eg«lm, especially The Sew Science of Politics
(Chicago, 1952), and the colossal Order and Uistory, 3 vols.
(Baton Rouge, 1956-1937) See "The Achievement of Enc
VoegeUn,” Modem Age, HI (1959), 182, for an ldra of the
latter’s status among intellectuals of the Right The influence
°* Strauss, like that of Reinhold Niebuhr, defies the bound-
***** of political allegiance

, The starting point for a study of Southern agrananism is
Take My Stand (New York, 1930, 1951) Other examples
of this ofishoot of the Conservative tradition are Herbert
Agar "The Task for Conservatism,” American Review, Iff
(*934), x. Land of the Free (Boston, 1935). and Pursuit of
Happiness (Boston, 1938), Agar and Allen Tate, eds Who
Owns America? (Boston, 1936), Donald Davidson “Itl Take
My Stand A History,” American Review, V (193S). 3 01 » and
Southern Writers in the Modem World (Athens, Ga , 1958).
Davidson, ed The Attack on Leviathan (Chapel Hill, 1938),
Frank Owsley. "The Pillars of Agrarianism,” American Re-
mew, IV (1935), 529. John Crowe Ransom et at “The
Agrarians Today,' Shenandoah, 111 ( 19S 2 ). J 4. Louis D.
Rubin, jr, and Robert D Jacobs Southern Renascence
(Baltimore, 1953), especially the contributions of Robert B
Heilman, Richard M Weaver, and Andrew Nelson Lytle,
Allen Tate "Notes on Liberty and Property," American Re-

276

CONSF RV AT1SM IN AMERICA

view, VI {1936), 596, and "What Is a Traditional Society?,”
American Review VII (1936), 376, Richard M Weaver et al
‘The Tennessee Agrarians," Shenandoah, III (1952), 3 In
addition, ses Auerbach The Conservative Illusion, chap iv.
Manning J Dauer "Recent Southern Political Thought,”
Journal of Polity, X (1948), 327, Manan Irish "Recent
Political Thought in the South,” American Political Science
Review, XLVI (195a}, 1a

The essence of Catholic political thought is captured o this
rcpresen'ative list J F Cronin Catholic Social Principle*
(Milwaukee, 1930) B, Martin Hillenbrand Power and Morals
(New York, 1949), Ross J S Hoffman The Organic State
(New York, >939), and The Spirit of Politics and the Future
of Freedom (Milwaukee, 1951), Hoffman and Paul Lcvack,
eds Burke’s Politics (New York, 1949), an effective and
symbolic umoa of Burkean Cousertatism and Catholic political
thought. Natural Law Institute, University of Notre Dame,
Proceedings (1947- ), Thomas F Neill The R'se and

Define of Liberalism (Milwaukee, 1953), John A Ryan and
Francis J Boland Catholic Principles of Politics (New York,
J943) B{ Tobn A Ryan and Moorehouse F X Millar The
State and the Church (New York, 1922), an earlier version
of Bjan and Boland Fulton J Sheen Liberty, Equality and
Fraternity (New York, 1938), and Freedom under Cod (Mil-
waukee, 1940), Yves R. Simon Philosophy of Democratic
Government (Chicago, 1951), Frederick D Wnhelmsen “The
Conservative Catholic,’' Commonweal, February ao-April 3,
19S3. including discussion, “The Conservative Vision,” Com-
monweal, June 24, 1955, and "The Alienated Professor,”
Commonweal, April 6, 1956 The monthly Catholic World Is
full of articles written in a Conservative vein Anthony Har-
ngan and Francis G Wilson (above, page 274) might also
be Included in this list, while Hoffman and YVdhelmsen are no
less in debt to Burke than to St Augustine and St Thomas
Aquinas

Since no two writers agree 011 the boundaries, principles, or
personnel of European Conservatism, a list similar to those
above would raise more questions than it would answer At
ttie very least, the writings of these men— not all of them
genuine Conservative*, to be sure — would seem to demand
consideration Henri Fr£d£rse Aroiel, Maurice Barr^s, Louis
de Bonald, F A R de Chateaubriand, Juan Donoso Cortes,
Johann Gustav Drojsen, Gughelmo Ferrero, Johann Go‘tlieb
Fichte, Fnednch von Gentz, E L. von Geriach, Fraojois

BIBLIOGRAPHY

*77

Guizot, Karl Ludwig von Haller, G W F Hegel, J, C von
Herder, Heinrich Leo, Joseph de Maistre, Fnedrich von der
Marwitz, Mettemich, Justus Moser, Adam Muller, Novalis,
Pierre Le Play, Friedrich von Raumer, Friedrich von S a vigny,
Friedrich von Schlegel, Oswald Spengler, F. J Stahl, Hyppolite
Tame, Alexis de Tocquevdle, and Louis VeuiUoL In addition,
the writings of such varied thinkers as Bertrand de Jouvenel,
Charles Maun as, Jos4 Ortega y Gasset, and Wilhelm Ropke,
as well as the speeches of such statesmen as Adenauer and de
Gaulle, are essential to an understanding of contemporary
European Conservatism See also Ludwig Freund “The New
American Conservatism and European Conservatism, - Ethics,
LXVI ( 1955), lo, Carl J Fncdnch “The Pohtica] Thought
of Neo-Liberalism,” American Political Science Review, XLIX
(*955)» 5°9« BN, B Harms, ed Volk und Reich der
Deutschen (Berlin, 1929), II, 35, Klemens von Klemperw
Germany s Hew Conservatism (Princeton, 1957), with an
introduction by Sigmund Neumann, Erik von Kuehnelt-
Leddibn “The New Conservatism in Europe,” Southwest
Review, XL (i9S5>, 1. whoso definition of Conservatism em-
braces everyone from Raymond Aron to Nicolas Berdyaev,
A. C Kunz Die Konsenaticf Idee (Innsbruck, 1949),
Mannheim " Das (Conservative Denkcn.‘ Archio jur Sotialu.it.
senschaft und Sozuilpohtik, LVII (1927), 68, 471, translated
and repnnfed in Mannheim Essays on Sociology and Social
Psychology (London, 1953) BN, Roberto Michels "Conserva-
tism," Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, IV, 230 B, Thom a T
Molnar French Conservative Thought Today," Modern Aag,
HI (1959), 283, Hans Muhlenfeld Pohtik ohne Wunschbtjj^
(Munich, 1952), P R Rohden ” Deutscher und framosicher
Konservatismus," Die Dioskuren, III (1924), 9®, Hans Joachim
Schoeps Konservative Emruerung (Stuttgart, 1958), an espe-
cially important statement, W O Shanahan Th e SoeuI
Outlook of Prussian Conservatism," Review of Politics, XV
( 1953), 209 BN. Andrew G Whiteside. 'Ernst vo n Salo®^
A Study in Frustrated Conservatism,” South Atlantic Quarter}'
LVI (1957), 234, Karl Wick “Der (Conservative Stoat,?,
danker Pohteta, I (1948-9), Ux U l 9. Francu G Wil*^
The New Conservatives m Spam,” Modem Age V

149 _ ,

H A- Kissinger The Conservative Dilemma Refl ettJ0
on the Political Thought of Mettemich," American p^,.
Science Revteu, XLVIII (1954). 1 0*7, wakes an inter^

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

278

distinction between the “historical conservatism’’ of Buike and
“rationalist conservatism” of Mettemich

For a clever and not unusual attempt to kidnap Burke and
press him Into the service of American Liberalism, see A A
ftogow “Edmund Burke and the American Liberal Tradition,
Antioch Revtew, XVII (1957), 255
An inquiry into the psychology of conservatism can begin
with the many references listed in D D Egbert and Stow
Persons, eds Socialism and American Life (Princeton, igs 2 ),
II, 368-75 T. W Adorno ei al The Authoritarian Personality
(New York, 1950), and A B Wolfe Conservatism, Radical-
ism, and Sctenh^c Method (New York, 1925) must both be
used with care Indeed, the former should be read only in
Conjunction with R Chnstio and Marie Jahoda, eds Studies
uv the Scope and Method of ' The Authoritarian Personality”
(Glencoe, I1L, 1954) Herbert McClosky “Conservatism and
Personality,” American Political Science Review, LII (1958),
vj, should be read with due attention to the comments of
WiUmoore Kendall and Morton J Fnsch in the same volume
pp 506, U08). as well as McClosky’s rejoinder (p im)^
Norman ft. Phillips 'Genetics and Political Conservatism,”
Western Political Quarterly, XII (1959), 753, traces the rela-
tionship between conservatism and the "inheritance theory of
human development “ See also bis “The Conservative Implica-
tions of Skepticism,” Journal of Politics, XVIII ( 1956)1 28

II THE AMERICAN POLITICAL TRADITION

Theie has been a great deal of informative writing about
American political thought I doubt that any student would
need to go much beyond this list Carl Becker Freedom and
Responsibility in ihe American Way of Life (New Yoik, 1945) ,
Daniel Boors tin The Census of American Politics (Chicago,
>953), Henry Seidel Canby Everyday Americans (New York,
1920), \V J Cash The Mind of the South (New York, 1941),
Francis W Coker “Amen can Traditions Concerning Property
and Liberty,” American Political Science Review, XXX (1938),
1, Henry Steele Cornmager The American Mind (New
Haven, 1950), Commager, in J W Chase, ed. Years of the
Modem (New York, 1949), chap i. Merle Curt! The Growth
of American Thought (New York, 1943I CB, The Social Ideas
of American Educators (New York, 1935), and The Roots of
American Loyalty (New York, 1946), Russell Daienport et

BIBLIOGRAPHY

279

at VS A The PermanerJ Revolution (New York, 1951),
Ralph Hemy Gabnel The Course of American Democratic
Thought, and ed (New York, 1956), Louis Hartz- The
Liberal Tradition in America (New York, 1955)! Richard
Hofstadter The American Political Tradition (New York,
1948) CB, J Mark Jacobson The Development of American
Political Thought (New York, 1932) B, Cornelia Le Boutilher
American Democracy and Natural Law (New York, 1950),
Robert S and Helen M Lynd Middletown (New York, 1929),
and Middletown m Transition (New York, 1937), Alphetis T
Mason and Richard H Leach In Quest of Freedom (New
York, 1959), Richard D Mosier Making the American Mind
(New York, 1947). Gunnar Myrdal An American Dilemma
(New York, 1944), chaps I, xx, xxi, Remhold Niebuhr The
Irony of American History (New York, 1952), Henry Baroford
Parkes The American Experience (New York, 1947). Vernon
L. Partington Main Currents in American Thought (New
York, 1930) B, Ralph Barton Perry Puritanism and Democracy
(New York, 1944) BN, and ChractensticaUy American (New
York, 1949), Stow Persons American Minds (New York,
1958) B, Merrill D Peterson The Jeffersonian Image in the
American Mind (New York, i960), David M Potter People
of Plenty Economic Abundance and the American Character
(Chicago, 1954). David Riesman The Lonely Crowd (New
Haven, 1950), Arthur M Schlesmger, sr The American a*
Reformer (Cambridge, 1950), Cumn V Shields “The Ameri-
can Tradition of Empirical Collectivism,” American Political
Science Review, XL VI (1952), 104, T V Smith The Demo-
cratic Tradition in America (New York, 1941), W Lloyd
Warner et al Democracy in Jonesvdle (New York, 1949),
Warner American Life Dream and Reality (Chicago, 19S3)
B, Robin M Williams, jr American Society (New York, 1951),
chap xi, Francis G Wilson The American Political Mind
(New York, 1949) 8, B F Wnght, jr . American Interpreta-
tions of Natural Law (Cambridge, 1931), and "Traditionalism
m American Political Thought,' Ethics, XLVM {1937), 86

III CONSERVATISM IN AMERICAN HISTORY

For the early penod the literature is excellent See the
relevant chapters in Curb, Gabnel, Hartz, Hofstadter, Jacob-
son, Mason and Leach, Pamngton, Persons, and Wilson, as
well as E P Alexander A Revolutionary Conservative lamer

28 o

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Duane (New York, 1938), Joseph L Blau “Tayler Lewis
True Conservative” Journal of the History of Ideas, XIII
(*95*). 218, Harold W Bradley "The Political Hunking of
George Washington,” Journal of Southern History, XI (1945),
469, Jesse T Carpenter The South as a Conscious Minority,
1789-1861 (New York, 1930) B, H Trevor Colboum “John
Dickinson, Historical Revolutionary," Pennsyloania Magazine
of History, LXXXIII (1959), 271, Richard N Current Daniel
Webster and the Rue of National Conservatism (Boston,
195S). and "John C Calhoun, Philosopher of Reaction,"
Antioch flew etc. III (1943), 223, Martin Diamond 'Democ-
racy and The Federalist American Political Science Review,
LIII (1959), 52, Lewis S Feuer “James Marsh and the Con-
servative Transcendentahst Philosophy,” New England Quar-
terly, XXXI (1958), 3, Marvin Fisher ‘The Pattern of Con-
servatism in Johnsons Rasselas and Hawthorne’s Taler," Jour-
nal of the History of Ideas, XIX (1958), 173, Stanley Cray
“The Political Thought of John Winthrop,” New England
Quarterly, III (1930), 681, Louis Hacker Alexander Hamilton
m the American Tradition (New York, 1957), Zoltan Haraszti
John Adams and the Prophets of Progress (Cambridge, 1952),
John T Horton James Kent A Study in Conservatism (New
York, 1939), Norman Jacobson “Political Realism and the
Age of Reason The Anti-Rationalist Heritage in America,"
Review of Politics, XV (1953), 446, Harry V Jaffa Crisis of
the House Divided (Carden City, 1959), esp pt IV, Cecelia
Kenyon “Alexander Hamilton Rousseau of the Right," Polit-
ical Science Quarterly, LXXIII (1958), 161, Russell Kirk
Randolph of Roanoke A Study in Conservative Thought
(Chicago, 195a), Kirk The Conservative Mind, chaps 111,
v-vii B, Adrienne Koch “Hamilton, Adams and the Pursuit of
Power," Review of Politics, XVI (i954)> 37, Leonard W
Labaree Conserooiirm in Early American History (New York,
1948}. A B Leavelle and T L Cook “George Fitzhugh and
the Theory of American Conservatism," Journal of Politics,
VII (1945)1 *45. John C Livingston “Alexander Hamilton
and the American Tradition," Midwest Journal of Political
Science, I ( 1957), 209, Charles E Memam American Political
Theories (New York, 1903), chaps, id, vii BN, Marvin Me>ers
The Jacksonian Persuasion (Stanford, 1957). Perry Miller
and T H. Johnson, eds The Puritans (New kork, 1938) CO,
Herbert L Osgood, “The Political Ideas of the Pun tans,"
Political Science Quarterly, VI (x8gz), 1, 201, Saul K. Padover
"Ceorge Washington — Portrait of a True Conservative," Social

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2$1

Research, XXII {1955), 199, Stanley Pargellis "Lincoln’s
Political Philosophy,” Abraham Lincoln Quarterly, 111 (1945),
3, Neal Riemer 'James Madison and the Current Conserva-
tive Vogue" Antioch Review, XIV (1&54), 458, Clinton
Rossiter Seedtime of the Republic (New York, 1953) BN,
and “The Legacy of John Adams," Yale Review, XLVII
( >957). 528, James P Scanlan " The Federalist and Human
Nature,” Review of* Politics, XXI (zgsQ), 657 , David B
Walker "Rufus Choate A Case Study in Old Whiggery
Essex Institute Historical Collections. XCIV (1958), 334,
Ccnea M Walsh The Political Science of John Adams (New
York, 1915), W Hardy Wickwai "Foundations of American
Conservatism,” American Political Science Review, XLI ( 1947),
1105 BN, B F Wright, jr “The Federalist on the Nature
of Man," Et/ncs, LIX (1949), DO 2 » P** 2
Those who wish to look deeper into the men and ideas of
Chapter V may begin with James T Adams Our Business
CmiliMtion (New York, 1929), Thornton Anderson Brooks
Adams Constructive Conservative (Ithaca, 1951), Irving Bern-
stein "The Conservative Mr Justice Holmes,” New England
Quarterly, XXIII (1950), 435, John M Blum The Republican
Roosevelt (Cambridge, 1954), Bernard E Brown American
Conservatives The Political Thought of Francis Lteber and
John W Burgess (New York, 1951) B, Thomas C Cochran
and William Miller The Age of Enterprise (New York, 194a)
B , Edward S Corwin Liberty against Government (Baton
Bouge, 1948), C B Cowing “H L Mencken The Case of the
'Curdled' Progressive,” Ethics, LX1X (1959), 255. Curti
Growth of American Thought, chap xxv CB, Arthur H Dakin
Paul Elmer More (Princeton, 1960), Joseph Dorfman The
Economic Mind m American GivnUzatian (New York, 1946-
1959). v< il 111 BN, Sidney Fine Lcwsez Foire and the General-
Welfare State (Ann Arbor, 1956), Gabriel Course of American
Democratic Thought, chaps xui, xvui, xix, »x, Hairy X
Gnvetz From Wealth to Welfare (Stanford, 195°) B, Eric F
Goldman Rendezvous with Destiny (New York, 1952) CB,
Charles G Haines The Revival of Natural Law Concepts
(Cambridge, 1930), chaps turn, Morrell Heald "Business
Tnought m the Twenties Social Responsibility,” American
Quarterly, XIII (lgfll), 126 BN, Bichard Hofstadter Social
Darwinism in American Thought (Philadelphia, 1945) B, and
American Political Tradition, chaps vu, ix, x, u CB, Robert A
Hume Runaway Star an Appreciation of Henry Adams
(Ithaca, 1951), Kuk The Conservative Mind, chaps 1, xU B,

282

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Richard W Leopold Ehhu Root and the Conservative Tradi-
tion (Boston, 1954), Edward R Lewis A History of American
Political Thought from the Civil War to the World War (New
York, 1937) B, Robert G McCloskey American Conservatism
in the Age of Enterprise (Cambridge, 1951), Charles E
Merriam American Political Ideas (New York, 1920), chaps
xi-xu BN, I Francis Paschal Mr Justice Sutherland (Prince-
ton, 1951), Arnold M Paul Conservative Crists and the Rule of
Law (Ithaca, i960}, James W Prothro Dollar Decade Business
Ideas in the 1920's (Baton Rouge, 1954), Carl B Swisher
Stephen] Field (Washington, 1930), Benjamin R Twiss Law-
yers and the Constitution (Princeton, 1942), Thorstein Veblen
Theory of the Leisure Class (New York, 1899), Austin Wanen
“The New Humanism’ Twenty Years After,” Modern Age, III
(1958-1959), 81, Wilson American Political Mind, chap
nil B, Woodrow Wilson "Conservatism, True and False,”
Princeton Alumni Weekly, December 16, 1908, Irvin G
Wylhe The Self-Made Man m America (New Brunswick,
N J , 1954), and "Social Darwinism and the Businessman,”
Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, CIII
(1959), 629, BN

IV MODERN AMERICAN CONSERVATISM (secondary works)

The conservatives themselves may often be at a loss for
words, but their critics, both savage and fnendly, are never
See Daniel Aaron Conservatism, Old and New," American
Quarterly, VI (1954), 99 BN, Cabnel Almond The Political
Attitudes of Wealth," Journal of Politics. VII ( 1945), 213 BN,
Cycille Amavon Les N ouveaux Conservateurs Am£ricalns“
Etudes Anglatses, IX (1956), 97, Thuiman Arnold The Folk-
lore of Capitalism (New Haven, 1937), Auerbach The Con-
servative Illusion, chaps ill, v-vu, Marver Bernstein “Political
Ideas of Selected American Business Journals," Public Opinion
Quarterly, XVII (1953), 258 BN, D W Brogan Recipe for
Conservatives" Vi'.'jmia Quarterly Review, XIII (l937)» 3 21 »
Stuart Gerry Biown "Democracy, the New Conservatism, and
the Liberal Tradition in America," Lthics, LXVI ( 19SS)> i»
John II Buiuel “The General Ideology ol American Small
Business,” Political Science Quarterly, LXX (1955), 87. E M
Bums Ideas in Conflict (New York, 1960), chaps vm-ani, B,
Wdliasi G Cuktoa ’Amen can. Intellectuals and American
Democracy,” Antioch Review, XIX ( 1959)- Richard

BIBLIOGRAPHY

383

Chase "Neo-Conservatism and American Literature,” Com*
mentary, XXIII (1957), 254, Phillip C Chapman "The New
Conservatism Cultural Criticism v Political Philosophy,”
Political Science Quarterly, LXXV (i960), 17, A- S Cleve-
land “N A M Spokesman for Industry?” Harvard Business
Review, XXVI (1948), 357, Francis W Coker. “Some
Present-Day Cntics of Liberalism,” American Political Science
Re view, XLVI1 (1953), t BN, Bernard Cnck “The Strange
Quest for an American Conservatism," Review of Politics, XVII
( 1955), 359, Robert Gorham Davis “The New Criticism and
the Democratic Tradition,” American Scholar, XIX (1949-50),
9, and tho exchange of ideas in American Scholar, XX (1950),
86, 218, Raymond English “Conservatism the Forbidden
Faith,” American Scholar, XXI (1952), 393, John Fischer
"Why Is the Conservative Voice so Hoarse?,” Harper's, March
1956, John K Galbraith "The Businessman as Philosopher,”
Perspectives, Autumn, 1955, Franklyn S Hannan. “A New
Look at the New Conservatism” Bulletin of A A, U P, XLI
(»955)» 444. Chadwick Hall “America's Conservative Revolu-
tion," Antioch Review, XV (1955), 204, Gertrude Himmel-
farb “The Prophets of the New Conservatism," Commentary,
IX (1950), 78, Sidney Hook “Bread, Freedom and Business-
men" Fortune, September, 1951, Samuel P Huntington
‘ Conservatism as an Ideology" American Political Science Re-
view. LI (1957), 454. BN, Thomas P Jenlon Reactions of
Major Groups to Positive Government (Berkeley, 1945), Ralph
L. Ketcham “The Revival of Tradition and Conservatism in
America,” Bulletin of A A U P, XLI (1955), 425, Irving
Kristol ' Old Truths and the New Conservatism,” Yale Review,
XLVH (1957). 365, Bernard L Kronick "Conservatism A
Definition,” Southwest Social Science Quarterly, XXVIII
(1947), 171 BN, James McBurney “The Plight of the Con-
servative in Public Discussion,” Vital Speeches , March 15,
195°, H, M Macdonald “The Revival of Conservative
Thought," Journal of Politics, XIX (1957), 66, Alpheus T
Mason “Business Organized as Power,” American Political
Science Review, XLIV (1950), 323 BN, Eric L. McKitnck.

" 'Conservatism* Today,” American Scholar, XXVII ( 1957),
49, C Wright Mills “The Conservative Mood,” Dissent, I
(i954), William J Newman The FutlLtarlan Society
(New York, 1961), Rewbold Niebuhr, "American Conservatism
and the World Crisis,” Yale Review, XL (1951), 385, Stanley
Fargelhs tt aL comments in Newberry Library Bulletin, III
(i953)» 73. lames W Pro thro "Business Ideas and the

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

284

American Tradition” Journal of Politics, XV (1953). 67 BN,
John P Roche “I’m Sick of Conservatism,” New Leader,
August 22, 195s, Frederick Rudolph “The American Liberty
League,” American Historical Review, LVI (1950), 19, Lau-
rence Sears “Liberals and Conservatives," Antioch Review,
XIII (1953), 361, Arthur M Schlesinger, jr The Vital Center
(Boston, 1949), chap 11, ‘The Need for an Intelligent Con-
servatism,” New York Times Magazine, April 2, 1950, 'The
New Conservatism m America A Liberal Comment," Con-
fluence, II (1953), 61 and “The New Conservatism Politics of
Nostalgia, ’ The Reporter, June 16, 1955, Ceorge Stigler “The
Politics of Political Economists," Quarterly Journal of Eco-
nomics, LXX1II (1959), 522, David Spitz 'Freedom, Virtue,
and the New Scholasticism,” Commentary, XXV (1959), 3*3.
Harold W Stoke “The Outlook for American Conservatism,"
South Atlantic Quarterly, XII (1942), 266, Cushing Strout
“Liberalism, Conservatism and the Babel of Tongues," Partisan
Review, XXV (1958), 101, F X Sutton ct al The American
Business Creed (Cambridge, 1956), esp pt. L BN, Peter
Viereck, Heinz Eulau, Paul Bixler “Liberals and/oersus
Conservatives,” Antioch Review, XI (1951). 387, Morton
White “Original Sin, Natural Law, and Politics," Partisan Re-
view, XXIII ( 1956), 218, W H Whyte, jr Is Anybody Listen-
ing? (New Tork, 1952), Esmond Wnght ‘Radicals of the
Right," Political Quarterly, XXVII ( 1956), 366 The publication
of Russell Kirk’s Conservative Mind in 1953 called forth a
number of interesting commentaries on American conserva-
tism, the most provocative of which were Cordon K Lewis,
“The Metaphysics of Conservatism,” Western Political Quar-
terly, VI (1953). 728, Ralph C Ross “The Campaign against
Liberalism, contd ,** Partisan Review, XX ( 1953). 5®8, Page
Smith “Russell Kirk and the New Conservatism,” New Meilco
Quarterly, XXV ( 1955), 93, E V Walter ' Conservatism
Recrudesced," Partisan Review, XXI (1954). S* a . Harvey
Wheeler "Russell Kirk and the New Conservatism," Shenan-
doah, VII (*956), 20

The Marxist view, interesting if predictable, of the revival
of American conservatism can be studied in L L Horowitz
“New Conservatism,” Science and Society, XX ( 1956), *. and
C. B Macpherson, “Edmund Burke and the New Conserva-
tism," Science end Society, XXII (1958), 231

An introduction into the very special problem of Remhold
Niebuhr may be sought in the article by Morton White just
cited and in Harry It- Davis and Robert C. Good, eds

BIBLIOGRAPHY

28s

Reinhold Niebuhr on Politics (New York, i960), C. W, Kegley
and R \V Bretall, eds Reinhold Niebuhr His Religious,
Social and Political Thought (New York, 1956) B, chaps.
V'vm, x, Gordon Harbnd. The Thought of Reinhold Niebuhr
(New York, 1960), William Lee Miller "The Irony of Rem*
hold Niebuhr,” The Reporter, June 16, 1955
An arresting statement of the notion of “pessimistic democ-
racy” is Crane Bnnton The Shaping of the Modem Mind
(New York. 1953 ). chap vul

V MODERN AMERICAN CONSERVATISM (primary works)

The categories that follow are by no means watertight
There are books in each that might )ust as properly have
been listed under another heading

The ideas and assumptions of modem American conservatism
are best studied in the writings and speeches of its three great
public figures — Hoover, Eisenhower, and Taft Taft charac-
teristically, is the hardest to pin down, and one must search
wearily in the indexes to the Congressional Record and New
York Times for his best thoughts See generally Dwight D
Eisenhower (R L TreueafeL, ed ) Eisenhower Speaks (New
York, 1948), (Allan Taylor, ed ) What I Believe (New York,
1953), and Peace with Justice (New York, 1961), Herbert
Hoover American Individualism (New York, 1922), A Boy'
hood in Iowa (New York, 1931), The Challenge to Liberty
(New York, 1934), Addresses upon the American Road (New
York, 1938- ), and Memoirs (New York, 1951-2), vols. II,
III, Robert A- Taft A Republican Program (Cleveland, 1939).
Useful insights into Taft*s mind may be found in W S While
The Taft Story (New York, 1954), and Duncan Norton-Taylor
“Robert Taft's Congress,” Fortune , August 19S3 See also
Sheldon Clueck, ed- The Welfare State and the National Wel-
fare ( Cambridge, 1952), which reprints articles or speeches by
Bernard Baruch, Vannevar Bush, Harry Byrd, Donald David,
John Foster Dulles, Dwight D Eisenhower, Herbert Hoover,
Raymond Moley, Edwin G Nourse, Roccoe Pound, Donald
Richberg, and Waiter E Spahr, II L. Marx, jr , ed The Wel-
fare State ( New York, 1950) B, which reprints articles or
speeches by James F. Byrnes, Dulles, E^enhower, Moley, Taft,
and others, Raymond. Moley Uoui ta Keep Our Liberty (New
York, 1951), Robert Moses “Why I am n ConsenaUve,”
Saturday EccTung Port, February 11, 1936, Clarence A Ran.

z86

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

dal] A Creed for Free Enterprise (Boston, 1952), and Free-
dom' t Faith (Boston, 1953), Henry M Wrlston Challenge to
Freedom (New York, 1943) The Reader's Digest and Saturday
Evening Post are full of contributions written in the spint of
middle-of-the-road American conservatism.

Arthur Larson has made the most concerted attempt to
delineate the political principles of Eisenhower conservatism in
his A Republican Looks M His Parti / (New York, 1956), and
What We Are For (New York, 1959)1 both book* perhaps a
shade more liberal to outlook and purpose than the president
himself,

A case study in the practical diffi culties of governing America
on conservative principles u Edwin L. Dale, jr , Conservatives
in Power (Carden City, i960)

Ultra-conservatism at its angriest and most biting may be
sampled in Norman Beasley Politics Has No Moral* (New
York, 1949), Edgar C Bundy Collectivism in the Churches
(Wheaton. Ill, 1958), Eugene W Castle Billions, plunders
and Baloney (New York, 1955) , Raoul E Desvetnioe Demo-
cratic Despotism (New York, 1936), John T Flynn, The Road
Ahead (New York, 1949). and The Decline of the American
Republic (New York, 1956), Caret Carrett. The People's
Pottage (Caldwell, Idaho, 1953), Rosalie M Cordon Nine
Afen Against America (New York, 1958}, Vivien Krlletnj
Toil, Tost*, and Trouble (Caldwell, Idaho, 1953), Douglas
MacAithux (John M Pratt, ed.) Revitalizing a Nation
(Carden City, 195a), Clarence Manion The Key to Peace
(Chicago, >951), Chcsly Manly The Twenty-Tear Revolution
(Chicago. 1954), Thomas J Norton. Undermining the Consti-
tution (New York, lgjo), Samuel B Fettengill Smokescreen
( Kingsport, Terns, 1940), PtUenjpR and Paul C Bartholomew.
For Americans Only (New l oik, 1944), Henry PloWdeepcr
“Liberals" and the Constitution (Washington, 195a). E. Merrill
Root Collectivism on the Campus (New York, :95s). $ Well*
Utley The American System. Shall We Destroy It? (Detroit,
S936), R«i4 A. Worm set Foundation* T heir Power and
Influence (New York, 1958) In addition, *uch Journal* ** the
Chicago Tribune and I leant papers, such columnists a* Sokob
sky and Pegler. such periodical* as Human Events, Facts
Forum, and American Stctcury, and the brochure* ft ‘“eh
organization* a* the American Enterprise Association. *" or
America, Daughters ci the American Revolution. lolercfUegUto
Society of Individualist*, and the Committee for Constitutional
Cavtrmacnl deserva close attention. Perhaps the richest gold

BIBLIOGRAPHY

287

mine of ultra -conservative speeches, editorials, and articles is
the appendix to the Congressional Record
Ultra-conservabsm with a higher intellectual voltage is ex-
pressed Sn William F Buckley, jr Cod and Man at Yale
(Chicago, 1951), McCarthy and His Enemies, with Brent
Bozell (Chicago, 1954), an audacious if unsuccessful attempt
to solve the dilemma for decent ultra-conservatives presented
by Senator McCarthy, and Up From Liberalism (New York,
1959), James Burnham Congress and the American Tradition
(Chicago, 1959), Francis S Campbell (American pseudonym
of Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn) The Menace of the Herd
(Milwaukee, 1943), W H Chamberlin The Evolution of a
Conservative (Chicago, 1959), George B Cutten “Credo of an
Old-Fashioned Conservative,” American Mercury , November
1942, F A Harper Liberty A Path to Its Recovery (Irving-
ton-on-Hudson, 1949), Anthony Hamgan, ed The Editor and
the Republic Papers and Addresses of William Watts Ball
(Chapel Hill, 1954), Willmoore Kendall "The 'Open Society'
and Its Fallacies,” American Political Science Reekie, LIV
( i960), 97a, Frank Kent "America Is Conservative,” American
Mercury, October 1935, Rose Wilder Lane The Discovery of
Freedom (New York, 1943), Felix Morley The Power in the
People (New York, 1949), Freedom and Federalism (Chicago,
*959), and Cumption Island (Caldwell, Idaho, 1956), a
Utopian fantasy guaranteed to delight all enemies of the Six-
teenth Amendment, Paul Palmer. "Arc Conservatives Naturally
Stupid?” American Mercury, February 1939. Isabel Paterson
The God of the Machine (New York, 1943), Leonard E Read,
ed Essays on Liberty ( Irvmgton-on-Hudson, 1952), Henry
G Weaver The Mainspring of Human Progress (Irvmgton-
on-Hudson, 1953), Roger J Williams Free and Unequal
(Austin, 1953).

The National Review, founded in 1955 by William F.
Buckley, jr , and carried on by him with the aid of such bril-
liant anti-Liberal intellectuals (if they will pardon the descrip-
tion) as James Burnham, John Chamberlain, Willmoore Ken-
dall, Russell Kirk, and Frank Meyer, is far and away the most
interesting and rewarding journal of the Right. A sample of its
early days is in Chamberlain, ed , The National Review
Reader (New York, 1957) See also An Evening t nth National
Review (New York, i960). The debate among Ernest Van
Den Haag, Henry Hazbtt, and Frank S Meyer o \« die con-
servative posture toward Keynes, National Review, June 4, 30,
i960, is the kind of writing that could be found nowhere else.

288

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Another publication of considerable interest is Faith and Free -
dotn

The most widely admired statement of ultra-conservatism
by a political figure is Barry Gold water: The Conscience of a
Conservative (Shepherdsville. Ky, 1960)

From the avalanche of boohs, pamphlets, and occasional
pieces written in defense of the "Southern way of life" since
the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown t> Board of Education
( 1 0S4). the following may be singled out as especially im-
portant and revealing Donald Davidson “The New South and
the Conservative Tradition," Notional Reoicu), September 10,
i960, James Jackson Kilpatrick The Sovereign States (Chi-
cago, 1957), Kilpatrick and Louis D Rubin, eds The Lasting
South (Chicago, 1957), Richard Weaver ‘The Regime of the
South,” Notional Renew, March 14, 1959, William D Work-
man, jr The Case for the South (New York, i960) See also
the issue of Modem Age (vol II, Fall, 1958) devoted to the
conservative South, especially the articles by Kirk, Robert Y
Drake, John Court, Edward Stone, and Christine Benagh

The vox clomantls In etemo of pure individualism is heard
in Frank Chodorov One is a Crowd (New York, 1952), and
The Income Tax Root of All Evil (New York, 1954). Albert
J Nock Memoirs of a Superfluous Man (New York, I943)>
and Our Enemy, the State (New York, 1935), Ayn Rand The
Fountainhead (Indianapolis, 1943), and Arnhem (Los Angeles,
1946) Miss Rand presents as big a problem to the philosophers
of ultra-conservatism as McCarthy did to the practitioners, as
witness the exchange between E Merrill Root and Garry Wills
(an easy winner) in National Review, January 30, February 27,
i960

That peculiar brand of conservatism, economic Liberalism,
is expressed enthusiastically in John Chamberlain The Roots of
Capitalism (Princeton, 1961), Fred R Fairchild Understand-
ing Our Free Economy (New York, 1952), F A Harper
Gaming the Free Market (Irvington-on-Hudson, 19S2), F A
Hayek The Road to Serfdom (Chicago, 1944), Indwduchsm
and Economic Order (Chicago, 1948), and The Constitution of
Liberty (Chicago, i960), a grand summing-up of his influential
ideas that ends with a postscript entitled “Why I Am Not a
Conservative", Henry Hazlitt Economics in One Lesson
(New York, 1946), and The Failure of the New Economic*
(Princeton, 1959), Hazlitt, ed The Critics of Keynesian Eco-
nomics (Princeton, 1960), WiUford I King The Keys to Pros-
perity (New York, 1948), L von Mises Omnipotent Government

BIBLIOGRAPHY

289

(New Haven, 1944), Bureaucracy (Glasgow, 1945), Manm4
Chao* (Imngton-on-Hudson, 1&47). Socialism (New Haven,
igSi), Planning for Freedom (South Holland, I1L, 195a), and
The Anii-CapitatisUc Mentality (New York, 1956), William
A. Paton Shirtslecue Economic* (New York, 195a) The
Foundation for Economic Education is a wellspnng of books
and pamphlets that speak in the laissez-faire tradition. The fisc-
volume publication of the Foundation, Essay* on Liberty
( Irvmgton-on-Ifudson, 19SR-S4), is a nch collection of “liber-
tarian" tracts, most of them taken from The Freeman.

Henry Hazlitt The Free Mont Library ( Princeton, 1956),
is a critical bibliography of moro than 550 works “on the phi-
losophy of individualism."

The American Individual Enterprise System, lit Nature and
Future (New York, 1946), published by the Economic Princi-
ples Commission of N A M . 1* a unique, ambitious, exhaustive
attempt to state the basic creed of American business.

American conservatism rt its most thoughtful and suggestive
is exptessed by Herbert Agar A Declaration of Faith (Boston.
1952), ft rather long sup from his works m the agranaa vein,
Arthur A Ballantine “The Conservative Is Sometimes Right,"
Atlantic Monthly, C LAX 1 1 (1943), 9S, Walter Herns, free-
dom, Virtue, and the Fust Amendment (Raton Rouge, 1957).
Cordon K. Chalmers I he Republic and the Person (Chicago.
»9S»). Crcnvillc Clark “Conservatism and Civil Libert) “
VihJ Speeches, ]ul) 15, 193S, Jolrn \l Clark Ahcmutite to
Serfdom (New York, 1948). RuswU W. Davenport The
Dignity of Man (Ntw York, 1935), Peter Dmckcr. The Con-
cept of the Corporation (New York, 1946), The Future of
Industrial Man (New York, 194*). The New Society (New
York, 1950 1, and Landmark* of Tomorrow (New York. 1957).
Raymond English, rd. The Lssentud* of Freedom (Cambter,
Ohio, i960), Ralph E. Flanders The Amcrscsn Century
(Cambridge, 1950), and Platform for America (New York.
193O), Harry D Gideons* Political Education, American
Council on Education, 1951. Cordon Harrison Rood to the
Right (New York, 1954), August lleckscbcs A PcXtm of
PcJOK'a (New York. 1947}. and "Where Arc the American
Conservative*?* Confluence. II (1933). 54. TVamal Ilewesr
DrtnJruliie for Liberty (New York. 1947). Vincent C. Hop-
kin* Tl* Coosrfvative Concern." Thought, XXXI (1956),
a 7; Samuel P Huntington. Tha SoUur end the State (Cam-

CONSERVATISM W AMERICA

190

Or Forfeit Freedom (Carden City, 1947). Enc A. Johnston
America Unlimited (New totk, 1944), Cccrgc Kcnnan "Some
Disturbing Forces In Our Society.** Congressional Record, vok
XCL\ (83rd Congress), A26S0, Clark Kerr "What Became of
the Independent Spirit?” Fortune, July 1933, Frank It Knight
Freedom and Reform (New York, 1947), and Intilllgcnce end
Democratic Action (Cambridge, i960), Walter Llppmann
Public Opinion (New York, 192a), The Cood Society (Boston,
1937). The Public Philosophy (Boston, 1955), and the follow-
ing columns In the NeiO "fork Herald Tribune ‘The Jlaniling-
Down State** (January 5, 1950), The Coronation of a Queen”
(June a, 1933), and “The American Idea" (February 22,
1954), Wilham M McGovern and David S Collier Radical*
and Conservation (Chicago, 1937), William C Mullendore
"Our Tragic State of Confusion" Modem Age, IV ( 1959"
i960), 14. Edgar M Quceny The Spirit of Enterprise (New
York. 1943), Fred I Raymond The Limit 1st (New tork,
1947). Henry C Simons Economic Policy for a Free SocUty
(Chicago, 1948). Sumner Slichtcr The American Economy
(New York, 1950), Henry L SUmson and McCccrge Bundy,
On Active Service (New York, 1948), Alan Valentine The
Age of Conformity (Chicago. 1954). Henry C Wallich The
Cost of Freedom (New York, i960), James C Worthy Big
Business and Free Men (New York, 1959), David McCord
Wright Democracy and Progress (New York, 1930), Capital-
ism (New !ork, 1931), and "When You Call Me Conservative
— Smile," Fortune, May igsi Some of these books and
articles might just as easily have been placed in the Ust of
distinctly Conserv alive works beginning at p 274 The editorial
pages of Life, the New York Herald Tnlnine, and New York
Times should be added to this list.

VI MISCEtlAN EOUS

For an adequate Introduction to the radical Right, see
Arnold Forster and Benjamin Epstein The Trouble-Makers
(Carden City, 1952), Ralph L Roy Apostles of Discord
(Boston, 1953), Leo Lowenthal and Norbert Cuterman
Prophets of Deceit (New York, 1949), Daniel Bell et al The
Neu> American Right (New York, 1955), especially the articles
by Richard Hofstadter ("The Pseudoconservative Revolt")
and S M Upset (“The Source* of the 'Radical Right’"),
Victor C Fexldss “Populist Influences on American Fascism,"

BIBLIOGRAPHY

291

Western Political Quarterly, X (1957), 350, and "Ezra Pound
and American Fascism," Journal of Politics, XVII (1955). *73
For a much more adequate introduction to American author-
itarianism, see David Spitz Patterns of Anti-Democratic
Thought (New York, 1949) BN
Lawrence Dennis's most important "Fascist” writings are
The Coming American Fascism (New York, 1936), and The
Dynamics of War and Revolution (New York, 1940)

Two well-known books that should be read together are
Robert A. Brady Business as a System of Power (New York,
1943) R, and James Burnham The Managerial Retiolutton
(New York, 1941) They should be followed at once by
Frederick Lewis Allen The Big Change (New York, 1952) 8,
David Lihenthal Big Business A New Era (New York, 1953).
John K Galbraith American Capitalism (New York, 1952)
On the conservatism of the American party structure, see
A. Ranney and W Kendall Democracy and the American
Party System (New York, 1956), Murray Stcdman “American
Political parties as a Conservative Force," Western Political
Quarterly, X (1957), 392

On the problem of tension between relativism and absolutism
»n conservative thought, see John Livingston, "Liberalism,
Conservatism, and the Role of Reason". Western Political
Quarterly, IX (1956), 641, BN
The "conservatism” of American labor is best described in
Frank Tannenbaum A Philosophy of Labor (New York, 19S 1 ),
Daniel Bell ' Labor's Coming of Middle Age," Fortune, Oc-
tober 1951, and "The Next American Labor Movement,”
Fortune, April 1953, the “conservatism” of indifference in
C Wright Mills White Collar (New York. 1951)

A classic statement of the joint function of liberalism and
conservatism is in Ralph Waldo Emerson Works (Boston,
1903), I. *25, 293

The injection of Conservative values into American diplomacy
is considered in Clinton Rossiter * The Old Conservatism and
the New Diplomacy,” Virginia Quarterly Review, XXXII
( 1956), 28, Kenneth Thompson "Liberalism and Conservatism
in American Statecraft,’* Orbu, II (1958), 457 See Hans J
Morgenthau "Another 'Great Debate’ The National Interest
of the United States," American Political Science Review,
XLVI (1952), 961, for a frank attempt to set up a "realist”
(Conservative) versus “utopian" (Liberal) confrontation in
the grasp and conduct of foreign affairs
Other useful studies are A. A- Btrle The Twentieth Century

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

292

Capitalist Revolution (New York, 1955). Rowland Berthoff
"The American Social Order A Conservative Hypothesis,"
American Historical Review, LXV (1960), 495, BN, Howard
R. Bowen Social Responsibilities of the Businessman (New
York, 1953) B, F E Dessauer Stability (New York, 1949).
"Freedom and the Er pan ding State," Proceedings of the
Academy of Political Science, XXIV (1950), No 1, John K
Galbraith The Affluent Society (Boston, 1958), Albert Lauter-
bach Economic Security and Individual Freedom (Ithaca,
1948) B, C Wnght Mills The Power Elite (New York, 1959).
which proves how useful a silly book can be, and vice versa,
Hans J Morgenthau Dilemmas of Politic* (Chicago, 195 s ).
Samuel Eliot Monson ' Faith of a Historian,” American His-
torical Review, LVI (1951), 261, Allan Nevms ‘‘Should
American History Be Rewritten?’ Saturday Review, February
6, 1954, David Riesman Individualism Reconsidered (Glencoe,
Id, 1954)1 Adlai E Stevenson Major Campaign Speeches
(New York, 1953), Frank Tannenbaum ‘ The Balance of
Power in Society,” Political Science Quarterly, LXI (1946),
481, Clement E Vose 'Conservatism by Amendment, 1 / Yale
Review, XLVII (1957), 176, William H Whyte, jr The
Organization Man (New York, J956)

Alan Westni has made two useful studies of the behavior of
the radical Right "The John Birch Society,’ Commentary, Au-
gust, 1961, and "The Deadly Parallels Radical Right and Radi-
cal Left,” Harper ' * Magazine, Apnl, 1962

INDEX

Aaron, Daniel, 282
abolitionists, 89-90
Adams, Brooks, 157-158, *13,
124

Adams, Henry, 156-157, 160,
ai3, 219, 221, 22a, 324
Adams, James T, 281
Adams, John, vm, 102, 107,

*15. 118, 125, 127, i3i,

*34. 154. 155. 160, 164,

*79. 183, 198, 204, 219.

261, 262, 264, 267, as model
of American conservatism,
114-115, 226, political the-
Qry, 22, 110-115, 133. 140
Adams, John Quincy, 125
Adams, Samuel, 87
Adenau< r, Konrad. 277
Adler, Mortimer, 225
Adorno, T W , 278
Agar, Herbert, 80, 225, 229,
*75, 289

agrarianism, 48-49, 89, 120,
in South, 228-232, 275-
276

Alexander, E P , 279
Alger, Bruce, 170
Alger, Horn bo, 150
Allen, Frederick Lewis, 291
Almond, Gabriel, 2S2
American Bar Association, 148
American Council of Christian
Churches 171

American Enterprise Associa-
tion, if 3, 286, 289
American history from con-
servative point of view, 84-
96

American Liberty League,
161, 243

American Mercury, 286, 287
American political thought
quality, 161-163, 214, char-
acter today, 236-237

American political tradition,
19, 67-84, >62, 167, 206,

234, 258, 262, 264. 268,

269, forces shaping, 68-71,
204-207, principles, 71-84,
unity, 67-69, literature, 278-
. *79

Amertcan Heowtn, 229, 275
American Revolution, 70, 74,
86-87, 102, 107, 264
Amery, L S , 272
Ames, Fisher, 115-1**4 **8,
131, 221

Amiel, Frederic, 270
anarchy, 14, *39, J ®9
Anderson, Thornton, 281
Annan, Noel, 273
aaU intellectualism, 6a, 213,

192, 315, 252-253

apathy, 181-182
aristocracy, 33, 88, 202, in
Conservative tradition, 24-
25, 48-49 57, 65, 66, m
American political tradition,
72. 206, 355, m early Amer-
lean conservatism, 99, 112,
125, in laissez-faire con-
serv absm, J34* l 3®, **»

American Conservatism,
*55**5®, 1 SS-JS9. to mod-
ern American conservatism,
185-166, 268, in America,

Aristotle, 16, 51, 124, 219
Arnavon, Cycille, 282
Arnold, Thurman, 209, 282
Aron, Raymond, 277
Auerbach, Morton, vui, 271,

authoritarianism, 166-167

294

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Babbitt, Irving. 153-159. 4>9
Ballantine, Arthur, 186, 389
Barr is, Maurice, 276
Bartholomew, Paul C • 286
Baruch, Bernard, 3S6
Beale, Truxton, 150
Beard, Charles, 237
Beasley, Norman, 173, 286
Becker, Carl, 70, 27?

Beecher, Henry Ward, 133,

150

Bell, B 1 , 235, 274
Bell, Darnel, 290, 291
Bellamy, Edward, 153
Belloc. Hilaire, 373
Benagh, Christine, 288
Berdyaev, Nicolas, 277
Berle, A. A., 291
Bems, Walter, 225, 289
Bernstein, 1 , 281
Bernstein, M 282
Berthoff, Rowland, 89, 293
Bierce, Ambrose, 56
Bdl o{ Rights, &-J-B8, 104
Bixler, Paul, 384
Bland, Richard, JOi
Blau, Joseph L , 280
Bledsoe, Albert, 126
Blum, John M , 281
Boland, F J , 232, 276
Bolin cbroVe, Lord, iB
Bona! j, Louis dc, 276
Boorsun, Darnel, 214, 225,

a6a, 278

Boucher, Jonathan, lOi
Bouscaien, Anthony, 172
Bowen, Howard, 252, aga
Bowles, Chester, 245
Bozell, Brent, 287
Bradley, Harold W , 280
Brady, Robert A , 167, 291
Braxton, Carter, 102
BretaB, R. \V, 285
Brewer, David J , 149
Bncier Amendment, x75
Brmton, Crane, 225, 263, 268,

^5

Brogan, Colm, 273
Brogan,© IV, 282
Bromfield, Louis, 174
Brown, Bernard E , 181
Brows, Stuart Gerry, 282
Brownson, Orestes, 133, 243

Bryan, William Jennings, 90,
95, >29

Brjant, Arthur, 373
Bryce, James, 83
Buckley, William F , jr . 171.
173, 178-180, 220, 351. 263,

Buniy, Edgar C , 17 1
Bundy, McCeorge, 225, 286,
290

Bunzel, John H , 282

a " bss, John W , 141, 148
e, Edmund, viii, 4, 55,
56, 91, 108, 137. 1S4. >55.
159. >79, >97. 19 8 . 204,
221, 226, 228, 201, 265,
273, 275, 276. *78, as
model Conservative, i5->7.
219, political theory, vii, 25,
36, quoted, ao, 23, 26, 35.
„ 39. 43. S*. 87
Buruham, James, 66, 172, 224.
287, 291

Buna, Arthur F , >74
Burns, E M , 282
Bush, Vannevar, 188, 285
businessman role in Ameri-
can civilization, >90, 251-
255, 265 See also indus-
trialization
Butler. David E, 83
Butler, Nicholas Murray, >34.

142, >48, 151, 161
Butler, R A , 373
Butterfield, Herbert, 273
Byrd, Harry F , 173, 187, >95,
328, 247, 3S5
Byrne#, James F , 286

Calhoun, John C, 120-124,
126, 131, 133, 2ig, 3*8,
329, 262, 365
Calvin, John, S3J, 219
Campbell, John A. 148
Canby, Henry Seidel, 378
Canning, George, 473
Cape hart, Homer, 228
Capitalism, 38, 90, 129, >38,
203-307, 209, 255, 260,
identified with democracy,
152, 215 See also individ-
ualism, economic, conserv-
atism, busier fake, Liberal-
ism, economic

INDEX

Carleton, William G, 283

Carlyle, Thomas, 27 a
Carnegie, Andrew, 135, 145.
146-147, 151. *54, 161, 183,
194, 261

Carpenter, Jesse T , 280
Carroll, Charles, 103
Carter, James C , 14“

Carter, Landon, 102
Carver, Thomas Nixon, 14°
Case, Clifford, 174. 179. *81
Cash, WJ, 378
Castle, Eugene W , 280
Cather, Willa, i$9
Catholicism, 125, 232-234. po-
litical theory, 224, 232-234.

CrS Lord Hugh. 5 i. 372

Chalmers, Cordon h , 225,
Chamberlain, John, 9°. 1 ®9.

ChttwH.^aS;

Chambers, Whittaker, 17a.

change, 28-31, 60, 83, 130.
177, contrasted with reform,
94-96 See also reform.

c£pSphdh P C.283

£&££ F * »■

276

Chesterton, C K., 273
Chicago Tribune. 170*171
Choate, Joseph H , 148-M9
Choate, Rufus. 125
Chodorov. F„U, l6 » JJ 8
Christianity, 22, 70. 2ba -
oho churches religion
Christie, R-. 278 0

churches, 27-28. 34. f3*44.
church-state relations. 43-44.

Ck'S.hJ* Lor.1 ItadolpS. W

Churchill Sir Winston, 273

Cicero. 16

dvil rights, 176

Civil War, American, 95, 120

Clark, Grenville. aSg

Clark, John Bates, 14®

Claikl John M, 225. 2S9
CLrke, David. a7» _ .

olm structure, in Cooscrva-

295

tive tradition, 24-25, 28, 53,
65, in American political
tradition, 7*. 81-82,

American practice, 81-02,
in early American conserva-
tism, 99. m laissez-faire
conservatism, 1 34-130, m
modem American conserva-
tism, 185 See also society
Cleveland, A S , 283
Cleveland, Grover, 140. 147
Chnchy, Russell, 187
Cochran, T C , 151. *8*
Cogley, John, 232
Coker, F W , 278, 283

Colbouro. H Trevor. 280

Colden, Cadwallader. 100-101
Colend ge, Samuel Taylor. 4,
28, 42, 198. *19. a6l > 2 7 a
Collier, David S , 21, 29. 224.

Colhns, Seward. 27S
Commager, H S ,27“ ,

Committee for Constitutional
Government, 280
Committee for Economic De-
velopment, 174
Communism, 14. 77. 9*.

244, 260

community sec society
concurrent majority, 123
Congress, U S . 79. i°4. *4*’
142, 191. *47

consent, 31 . e A « in

conservatism defined . SjW.

12-13, psychology of, 0-0.
9, 46. 59. *78. BO

4b, 59- *70. r:

8, 59-60. practical, 8-g, as
pkilosophy, 9-10.
radicalism. 9. 10, »»-ai, 53,
165, 169. distinguished

from other isms, 10-15. ®9-
and liberalism, 1**13. >4.

54-59, 255-256. ddEculties

of, 54. 63-64. *6°. *79.
mission of, 9-t°* 51-54. 57.
C6 177. 200, *41. 2 'J 3 ’, 111
American political tradition,
C^Xunspoculative nature
of. ao-ai. 256-257

Conservatism, vu, 114.

defined 15-19. onpns, 15
16 in Creat UnUin, 17. 4».
127, 198. 2C,S . 3241 M °'

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

296

372-273, In Europe, 17,
276-278, principles, 17, 20-
42, 64-66, 198-201, 220,
230. 262, as mood, 46-51,

56, 200, mission of, 51-54,

57, 66, and Liberalism, 21,
44, 49-50, 54-59, 262-263.
contrasted with American
conservatism, 127, 145, 197-
201, 220-221, inadequacy
In American environment,
vii, 75, 118-119 131, 201-
207, 212, 261-262, critique

of 59-64

Conservatism, American, 17,
17*19, 98, 228-234. in co-
lonial period, 98-102, 279-
281, m Federalist penod,
279-281, collapse in nine-
teenth century, 117-119,
persistence as minority atti-
tude, 18-19, 155*160, 234,
261-262, present standing
and influence, 217-226, con-
trasted with British Con-
servatism, 127, 197-198,

modem spokesmen, 219-
226, literature, 274-276
conservatism, laissez-faire,
131-162, 183-196, 210, 228,
260-261, 281-282, princi-
ples, 131-146, spokesmen,
146-151. conclusions on,
151-154, in New Deal pe-
riod, 161-162. as key to
American mind, 214-216
conservatism, American re-
vival, v-\i, 3-4, 163-164,
218-219, *34. 235- 2 33, 270,
analysts of, 164-182, princi-
ples, 164, 182-193, 19S-
201, 266-268, conclusions
on, 193-196, critique of,
239-240, difficulties of, 216,
2a >. 223, 247, 251. 357-
258, 269 Identity of, 177-
183, intellectual failure of.
208-214, political and social
record, 314 217. 240-246,
266, “radicalism of, 94-96,
152. 203, 204-206, political
theory, 358-268, divisions
in, 345-248. mission, 341-
244, conditions fa /©ring.

237-238, conditions frus-
trating, 238-239, future,
249-270, literature, 282-290
Constitution, Bnhsh, 108
Constitution, U S , 75, 79, 87-
88, 117, 142, 145, 177, 206,
2x1, framing of, 102-105,
107, 116-117, character,

103-105, cult of, 117. 228,
140-141, 191

Constitution of 1780 (Massa-
chusetts), 87

constitutionalism, 88, 147, in
Conservative tradition, 32-
33. 57, in American politi-
cal tradition, 75. 79. 111
American practice, 79. 10 3-
104, in early American
conservatism, 113-113, in
laissez-faire conservatism,
139-*4I. 2*1. <n modem
American conservatism, 191-
192, 267, and democracy,
33-34, 267-268
contract, freedom of, 136-137*
149

Conwell, Bussell, 135-236,

Cool?1

5K, Thomas 1 , 50, 168,

274, 280

Cooley. Thomas N , 148
Coolidge, Calvin, 142, *47.
19a

Cooper, James Fenimore, 125
Cooper, John Sherman, 174
corporations, 254
Cortes, Juan Doooso, 276
Corwin, Edward S., 148, 281
Cotton, John, 100
Court, John, 288
Cowing C B , 2S1
Cram, Ralph Adams, I3g
Crick, Bernard, 283
Cronin, J F , 232, 276
Cummings, e e , 181
Current. Richard N , 2S0
Curti, Merle, 278
Cutten, George B , 287

Dakin, Arthur H , 281
Dale, Edwin L , 286
Darwm, Charles, 131, >44,
15a

INDEX

Darwinism, 151, 184
Dauer, Manning J , 276
Daughters of the American
Revolution, 168, 2S6
Davenport, John, too
Da\ enport, Russell, 225, 263,
275, 289

David, Donald, 38s
Davidson, Donald, 229-231.

2S 2 . 275. 288
Davis, Harry R , 284
Davis, Robert Gorham, 283
Dawson, Christopher, 273
Declaration of Independence,
87, 1.11

de Gaulle, Charles, 377
democracy, as ideal, 128, 130,
in Conservative tradition,
17. 19, 33*34, 37, 57. 61-63.

98, in American political
tradition, 72, 75, 119, w
early American conserva-
tism, 11a, 116, 120, in lais-
sez-taire conservatism, 15**
*54. 212, m modern Ameri-
can conservatism, 184, 216,
267, “pessimistic,” 268-269,
285

democracy, as reality, 127, hi
Constitution, 103-105, ti6-
117, in nineteenth-century
America, 117-119, 202, in-
fluence on American Con-
servatism, 201-202, 207,

conditions of, 267-268
Democratic Party, 129, 147.
174, 245, 247

Dennis, Lawrence, 107, 291
Descartes, Rene, 51
Dessauer, F E , 30, 292
Desvenune, Raoul E , 286
Dew, Thomas Roderick, i»6
Dewey, John, 4, 171, 181,
221-222, 237
Dewey, 3 homas E , 173
Diamond, Martin, 280
Dickinson, John, 102
Dillon, John F , 148
"direct democracy, 79, 14*
Disraeli, Benjamin, 20, 28, 29,

Dnicker, Peter, 224, 252, 289
Duane, James, 102
Duliny, Daniel, ]r , 101
Dulles, John Foster, 285
duty, 38-39, 65
Dwight, Timothy, 116, 125

Eastland, James, 247
Eastman, Max, 172
economic growth, 176
education, 21, 23, 34, in Con-
servative tradition, 26-27.
65, Jn American political
tradition, 71, 82, 206, m
American practice, 82, 181,
in American Conservatism,
ill, 222, in modern Ameri-
can conservatism, 192, 267-
268

Egbert, D D , 278
Eisenhower, Dwight D , 4, 94,
165, 173. 177, 178, 180,
*95 *96, 222, 256, 259,
at>3, political ideas, 102-
*93. >98-201, 285
Eliot, John, 100
Eliot, T S , 21, 273
Elliot, Walter, 272
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 56,
94, 131, 391

English, Raymond, 39, 54.
103, 108, 224, 262, 274,
283, 289

Epstein, Bsnianun, 290
equably relation to liberty,
24, of opportunity, 23, 134,
*53, *87, in Conservative
tradition, 23-25, 65, in

American political tradition,
72, 81-82, in American

practice, 81-82, m early
American conservatism, 99,
ni-112, 121, in laissez-
faire conservatism, 133,
*37, *49. *54. in modem
American conservatism,
185, 267

Estabrook, H R , 140-14*, *49
Eulau, Heinz, 284
Evans, Stanton, 225, 274
Evarts, V4 illiam M , 148
extri mism, right-wing, 4, J64,
166-170. *78, 250, 258,
290, 292

COSS£K\ATUM IN AMERICA

Facta Forum, 386
Fairchild, F R , 172, 2S8
Faith and Freedom, 288
family, 27-28, 34, 38
Fascism, 14. 18. 167
federalism, 79. 80, 83
Federalists, 88-89, 106-117,
1 18-119. 126. 159. 264-265
Federalist, The, 105-106, 364-
265

Felling, Keith, 61-G2, 27a
Ferhiss, V C , 290
Ferrero. Cughelmo, 276
Fessenden, Thomas Creen,

116

Feuer, Lewii S , 280
Fichte, Johann Cottlieb, 276
Field, Stephen J, 133, 141,
1^4, 149. 161, 183, ig4.

FiBeld, James W , 171
Filmer, Robert, 100, 124
Fine, Sidney, 281
Fischer, John, 383
Fisher, Marvin, 280
Fiske, John, 150
Fitzhugh, George, 134. 127
F landers, Ralph, 188, 289
Flynn, John T, 172, 208,

286

Ford, Henry, 203, 240
Forster, Arnold, 290
Fortune, 291
Foundation for Economic
Education, 171

founding fathers, U, S , 102-
117, 116-117, 140, 258,

364 370

Franklin, Benjamin, 85, 86
Freeman, The, 195-19Q 289
French Revolution, 15-16,
tog-iio

Freund, Ludw ig, 277
Friedman, Milton, 174
Friedrich, Carl J , 277
Frisch, Morton J , 278
frontier, 81, 86
Frost, Robert, 225

Gabriel, R H.379
Galbraith, John K , 171, 236,
283, 29 «, 292
Galloway. Joseph, 10 1
Gardner, Augusts P , 151
Garrett, Garet, 172, 286

Gary, Elbert H , 151
Gcntz, Fnedrich von, 276
Ceorgo, Henry, 159
Ccrbch, E L von, 276
Cerry, Elbridgc, 87
Cideonse, Harry, 39, 225 289
Cirvetz, Harry K , 167, 281
Glasgow, Eden, 159
Cluech, Sheldon, 190, 191,

285

CodUn, E I_, 150
Col dm an, Eric, 281
Goldin an, Peter, 372
Coldwater, Barry, 1*. 170,

171, 181, 209, 220, 221,
226, 251, 288
Gompers, Samuel, 94
Cood, Robert C . 284
Cordon, Rosalie M , 286
“Cospel of Wealth," 135* >36.
146, 186

government limits on, 32, 34-
35, -*i, 113, nature of, 31*
32.65. 137-138» 189**9*
government, role of, 57-58.
128. 233, in Conservative
tradition. 32-35. ,45*46. 10
American political tradition,
99, in American practice,
80-81, in oatly American
conservatism, 99, in laissez-
faire conservatism, 137-142,

215, in modem American
conservatism, 189-192 215-

216, 252-253, 260, 266-267
Crangers. 90, 129, 148, 149
Grant, Madison, 159

Crant, Ulysses S , 147
Craubard, Stephen It , 273

Cra>sc>n William J , 126
Creen, William, 94
Creen P, Donald J , 272
Greenback Party, 90, 129
Gregory, Darnel S , 135
Griswold, A Whitney, 259
groups, 27, 32, 34, 81, 253-
254 „

Guizot, Francois, 277
Guterman, Norbert, 290
Gulhne, William D, 148

Hacker. Louis, 84, 108, 225,
280

Hadley, Arthur T , 134. >48

INDEX

299

Hadsham, Viscount, 32, 198,
272

Hairoan, Franklm S , 283
Haines, Charles G. 281
Hall, Chadwick, 283
Hailer, Karl Ludwig von, 277
Halioweli. John, 224, 226,

262, 263, 274

Hamilton, Alexander, vu, 89,
95, 104, 1°7, US, l»8, 131,
192, 215. 226, 262, 264, po-
litical theory,^ 105-110, as
“conservative,'* 108-110
Hammond, f H , 126
Haiaszti, ZolUn, 280
Harms, B, 277, 285
Harper, F A , X72, 287, 288
Harper, William, 126
Hanigan, Anthony, 224, 232,

263, 274, *87
Hamman, Averell, 165
Harrison, Gordon, 2S9
Hart?, Louis. 70 80, 263, 379
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 125,

265

Hay, John, 160
Hay< k, F A, 172, 208, 392
Hazlitt, Henry, 172, 287, 288,
2S9

Heald, Morrell, 281
Hearns haw, F J C , 271
Hearst papers, 171
Hecier, Isaac, 125
Heckscher, August, 174, 225,
263, 289

Hegel, G W F , 277
Ileilman, Robert B , 275
Henry, Patrick, 87
Herder, J G von, 277
Hevves, Thomas, 289
higher law in Conservative
tradition, 45-46, > n

American political tradition,
76, in early American con-
servatism, 99, in laissez-
faire conservatism, 143-144*
152, in modem American
conservatism, 194, 266
Hill, David Ja>ne, 151
Hilienbranii. Martin, 232, 376
Hunmelfaxb, Gertrude, 34-35,
283

Hiss, Alger, 171
history, meaning of, 44-45. 4 7 ,
65, 73, 179. 209-210

Hoffman, Paul, 171, 174
Hoffman, Ross, 50, 224, 233,

276

Hofstadter, Richard, 91, 168,
171-172, 279, 281, 290
Hollis, Christopher, 273
Holmes, George Frederick,

126

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, jr,
5, 260

Hook, Sidntj, 283
Hooker, Richard, 16, 30. 219,
272

Hoover, Herbert, 147, 161,
265, 173, rg4, ig5, 1 96,
226, 261, political ideas,
182-193, 298-201, 285
Hopkins, Mark, 138-139
Hopkins, Vincent C, 389
Horowitz, I L , 284
Horton, J T, 280
Hubbard, Elbert, 134. 150,

161

Hughes, Charles Evans, 274,
189

Hughes, Henry, 226
Human Events, 286
human nature, see man, na-
ture of

Hume Robert A , 281
Humphrey, Hubert, 165, 178
Hunt, H L , 171
Huntington, Samuel P, 225,
283, 289

Hutchins, R M , 171, 325

111 Take A ly Stand, 229, 375
income tax, 149, 169
individualism, 34, 57*59* 23°.
233, 388, m Conservative
tradition, 23, 27, 30, 35-36,
40-42, 201, 204, in Ameri-
can political tradition, 72-
73, 76-77, 80-81. w Ameri-
can practice, 76-77, in lais-
sez-faire conservatism, 132,
137, 147, 15 2 * >S4. 161,
204, m American Conserva-
tism, 156, in modem Amer-
ican conservatism, 169-170,
184, 189, 192-193, 301,

360, 2G6, economic, 40-41,
141, 167. 172, 243. m ultra-

consuvaUsm, 177

industrialization, inU S, 129,

300

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Industrial Revolution, 16
inequality see equality
Inge, W R , *73
institutions, 23, 28
Intercollegiate Society of In-
dividualists, 121
Irish, Marian, 276
Ives, C P , 224

Jackson, Andrew, 85, 89, 95,
Jacksonian democracy, 1*7-

”9

acobs, Robert D , 275
acobson, J Mark, 279
acobson, Norman, 280
affa, Harry V , 280
ahoda, Mane, 278
amcs, William, 6

Jay, John, 107
Jefferson, Thomas, vul, 4, 18,
57, 7t. 85, 91, 114, 117.
J24, 125, 131, 134, 140,

15a. 154. 155. *59. 164,

102, 210, 259-260, 261,
265, as conservative/' 83-

89, 95

Jeffersonian tradition, X17,
120, 126, 130, 137. 161,

183, 203, 215, 226, 228,

230, 259-260

Jenkin. Thomas P , 192, 283
Jerrold, Douglas, 273
Jessup, John K , 173, 225, 289
John Birch Society, 168, 292
Johnson, Robert Wood, 289
Johnson, Samuel, vm, 51, 251,
272

Johnson, T H , 280
Johnson, William Samuel, 102
Johnston, Enc, xg4, 290
Jouvenel, Bertrand de, 277
judicial review, 79, 115, 141,
149

judiciary, U S, 104, 115, 140,
141

Kahn, A. E (“Fred”), 293
Keble, John, 272
Kegley, C W , 285

Kellems, Vivien, 171, 286
Kendall, WiUmoore, vii, 173,
225, 278, 287, 291
Ken nan, George, 225, 244,
290

Kennedy, John F , 165, 256
Kent, Frank, 195. 287
Kent, James 118
Kenyon Cecilia, 280
Kerr. Clark, 290
Ketchara, Ralph L , 283
Keynes, John Maynard, 287
Kilpatrick, James Jackson,
225, 288

King, Willford 1, 17 3 . 2 9*
Kirk, Russell, it, 18, 29, 42,
50, 108, 172, 198, 219-221,
223, 226, 237. 262, a6 3,
265, 271. 274, 275,, »8o.
284, 287, 288, political

theory, 219-220
Kissinger, H A., 53. 3 77
Klemperer, Klemens von, 277
Knight, Frank H , 225. 29a
Knights of Labor, 129
Kocn, Adrienne, 280
Knstol, Irving, 17, 242, 283
Kronlck. B L, 283
Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Erik von.

Labaree, Leonard W , *01-
102, 280

labor, U S , 82, 94. *37. *49
La Follette, Robert M , 90-91,
, 95. *4 3 ,

land, in Conservative tradi-
tion, 48-49

Lane, Rose Wilder, 287
Larson, Arthur, 174, *86
Lasky, Victor, 172
Laughlin, J Lawrence, 148
Lauteibach, A , 292
law, 30, 55

Lawrence, Bishop William,
*33. *43. *50, *53
Lawrence, David, 172, 208
Leach, Richard H , 279
Leavetle, A. B , 380
Le Boutilher, Cornelia, 279
Lecky, W E H , 272
Lee. Bracken, 17*

Lee, Richard Hemy, 87

INDEX

301

Left: defined, 15, m America,
97, 148-129, 162, 164, 176,
-245

^vacK, raui, 276
Lewis, Fulton, jr , 171
Lems, Gordon K , 282, 284
lewis, John L , 94, 165
Lewis, Sinclair, 213
Lewis. Ta>Ier, 126
Lewis, Wyndham, 2*3
liberalism defined, 12, and
conservatism, 12-13, 14, 54-
59. 255-356 See also pro-
gress! vism

Liberalism, 83-64, and Ameri-
can political tradition, 18,
70-74, 78, joB, 338, m
America, 70-71, 77, 96, 98,

127, 130, 152, 154, 164,

103, 207, 2J2, 240, 341,

25’, 259-260, attack on,

3l8-2ig, 233, 225-226, 233,
263, 275, economic, ail,

388-289 and Conservatism,
3 J» 44. 49-50, 54*59. 262-
,,263

liberty, 57, 152-153, in Con-
servative tradition, 24, 35,
37-42, 55, 57, 72, 76, in
American political tradition,
69, 73, ia early American
conservatism, 99, 114. 121,
m laissez-faire conserva-
tism, 136-137. in modem
American conservatism, 186-
i8g, 267, 269, 270 See also
rights of man
Lieber, Francis, 125

Ldfe’ntfw] , David, zo8, 253,

291

Lincoln, Abraham vui, 25,
262, 265, as 'conservative, ’
90

Lippmcotl, B F , 371
Lippmann, Walter, 12, 173,
174, 208, 225, 263. 265,

SQO

Lipset, S M , 290
Livingston, John C , 106, 291
Livingston, \\illtam, 102
Locke, John, 16, 100, 124,

>53

102, 213, 21S, 237, 344
Leo, Heinnch, 277
Leopold, Richard W , 282

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 151,
160

Lowell, A Lawrence, I4S
Lowell, James Russell. 159
Lowenthal, Leo, 290
Lower, A R. M , 273
loyalty, 10, 74-75 See also

Ludovici, A M , 272
Luhacs, J A , 225
Lynd, Robert, 379
Lytle, Andrew Nelson, 275

MacArthur, Douglas, 171, 286
Macdonald, H M , 283
Madison, James, nu, 105-106,
118, 140, 262, 264
Marne, Henry Sumner, 273
Maistre, Joseph de, 18, 127,
262, 2 77

majority rule in Conservative
tradition, 33-34, 57. 65, m
American political tradition,
72, 75, in early American
conservatism, 112-113, 122-
123, in laissez-faire con-
servatism, 140, in modem
American conservatism, 191,
267

MallocJc, W H , 272
Malthus, Thomas, 131
man, nature of, 8S, 179, in
Conservative tradition, 21-
27. 3*. 32. 43. 52. 61. &4,
m American political tradi-
tion, 71, 7S, in early Ameri-
can conservatism, 99, ni-
ls 2, in laissez-faire con-
servatism, 132-133, *44. «n
modern American conserva-
tism, 183-185, 266, in The
Federalist, 105-106
Manion, Clarence, 172, 189,

2S6

Manly, Chtsly , 172, 286
Mannheim, Karl, 277
Marsh, James, 126
Marshall, John, 107, 115, 118,
140, 265

Marwitz, Fnednch voa der,

277

Marx, H L,)r^ 285
Marx, Karl. 131

302

CONSERVATISM JN AMERICA

Mason, Alpheus T , 279, 2S3
Mason, George, 67
Mason, Noah, 170
materialism, 47. S9. 62, 130,
153. 154. 195. 201. 2°3,
223, 26a

Mather, Cotton, 100
Matthews, J B , 17a
Maude, Angus, 27a
Maurras, Charles, 277
Macaulay, Thomas, 239
McCarthy, Joseph R , 168,
171. 175. 177-17& 244.

McCloy, John, 174
McCosh, James, 150
McGovern, William M , ai,

29, 224, 262, 390
McKinley, Wnbam, 147, 179
McKitnck, Enc L , 283
Mencken, H L , 159, 213
Memam, Charles E , 280, 282
Mettemich, 53. aig, 233, 277,
278

Meyer, Frank S , 89, 17a, 224,
274. 287

Meyers, Marvin, 280
Michels, Roberto, 277
middle class, 82, 153, 181-
182, 185, 215

Mill, John Stuart, 18, 154, 261
Millar, Moorehouse F X., 276
Miller, Perry, 280
Miller, Samuel F , !44
Miller, William, 151, 281, 285
Mills, C Wnght, 4, 180, 181,
283, 291, 292
Milton, John, 48
Mises, Ludwig von, 17a, 208,
292

Mitchell, Broadus, 108
Modem Age, 223, 27s, 288
Moley, Raymond, 52, 172,
185, 186, 191, 194, 283
Molnar, Thomas, 277
Monroe, James, 118
morality, 39-40, in Conserva-
tive tradition, 25-26, 34, in
American political tradition,
76, in laissez-faire conserv-
atism, 133, 211, in modem

American conservatism, 267-
268

Mure, Paul EVmei, 158-159,
160, 219

Morgenthau, Hans J , 225,

291, 292

Monson, S E , 84, 225, 292
Morley, Fein, 172, 195, 287
Moms, Gouvemeur, 107
Moser, Justus, 277
Moses, Robert. 173, 195, 285
Mosier, R D , 279
MuldenJeld, Hans, 277
Muir, Ramsay, 57-58
Mullendore, William C , 290
Muller, Adam, 277
Murphy, Cardncr, 23
Murray, John Courtney, 23a
Murray, Philip, 94
MyidaJ, Cunnar, 68, a79
myth, ajo

National Review, 171, 178,
246, 287

Negro, in U S , 330, 246, 248
Neill, Thomas P , 276
Neumann. Sigmund, 277, 283
Nevms, Allan, 84, 217, 225,
292

New Deal, 3-4, 91-92, 149.
161-162, 170, 173, 175.

188, 236, 24a

New Freedom, 90-91, 92, 150

174. 2QO

New York Times, 174, 290
Newman, Cardinal, 272
Niebuhr, Reinhold, 308, 225,
236, 260, 263, 275, 279.
283, 284

Niemeyer, Cerhart, 225, 262,
263

Nietzche, Fnedrich, 131
Nuhet, R A , 224, 226, 274
Nixon, H C , 229
Nixon, Richard M , 173, 178-

INDEX

303

Norton-Taylor, Duncan, 184,
2S5

Noire Dame, University of,

232, 276

Nourse, Edwin G , 285

Novalis, 277

Oakeshott, Michael, 273
Oliver, Rev da, 225
Ortega y Gasset, ]os£, 35, 277
Orwell, George, 209
Osgood, Herbert L , 280
Ohs, Harrison Gray, 1x6
Owsley, Frank, 229, 275

Padover, Saul K , 2 80
Paine, Tom, 56, 116
Palmer, Paul, 287
Pargellis, Stanley, 49-50, 281,

Paikes, Henry B , 279
Partington, Vernon L , 279
Party, Stanley, 225. 274
parties, pohtical see two-
party system

Paschal, J Francis, 139, 28a
Paterson, Isabel, 287
Paton, William A , 17a, 289
patriotism, Jo, 47 75, 202,
233-23 4 See oho loyalty
Paul, Arnold M , 28a
Peale, Norman Vincent, lx,
194, 209, 259
Peckham Rufus W, 149
Peel, Sir Robert, 272
Pegler, Westbrook, 172, 286
Pendleton, Edmund, 10a
Percy, Lord, 272
Perry, Arthur L ; 148
Perry, Ralph Barton, 279
Persons, Stow, 2 78
Peterson, Merrill D , 279
Pettengill, Samuel B , 172,

286

Phelps, E J , 141
Phillips, Norman R , 278
Pickthom, Kenneth, 272
Pitney, Mahlon, 136-137
Plato, 16, 223 271
Plowdeeper, Henry, 286
pluralism, 28, 75
plutocracy, 155-156 , 160
Pollock, Jackson, 181
Populism, 90, 129, 148

Potter, David M , 69
Potter, Stephen, 240
poujadisme, 170, 250-251
Pound, Roscoe, 285
power, diffusion of in Con-
servative tradition, 30, 33,

38, 65, in American politi-
cal tradition, 79, m early
American conservatism, 106,
111-113, 122-123, in lais-
sez-faire conservatism, 138,
in American Conservatism,
266

pragmatism, 51, 214
prejudice, 22
prescription, 2g, 65
Presidency, U S , 104, 118,
142, 177. 19a
Pnnce, A. E , 274
progress, 28-29, 6 5, 145, 154,
242, 266, 269 See also
change, reform
progresmism, American, 8 s-
94, 129, 148, 162, 213,
present status, 236, 244-
245

property, 152-153. 233, in
Conservative tradition, 37-

39, 49. 52-53. 57. 6s, in
American political tradition,
76, 206, in early American
conservatism, 114, 118, m
laissez-faire conservatism,
136-137. 139, m modem
American conservatism, 186-
187, 267-268, as basis of
suffrage, 118

Prothro, J W , 282, 283
prudence, 26, 63
pseudo-cons ervabsm, 168,

178, 250, 258 See also
ultra-conservatism
public service, 252-254
Puritanism, 25, 125, 133, 150,
pohtical theory, 98-100

Queeny, E M , 290
Quincy, Josiah, 118

racism, 159, 168
radicalism, 45, 63-64, 83, aio,
defined, 11-22, in America,
76-77, 180 See also Left
Rand, Ayn, 169, 288

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

Randall, Clarence, 173, 208,
285

Randall, James G , 90
Randolph, John, 118, 125
Ranney, A , 291
Ransom, John Crowe, 229,

*75

Raymond, Fred 1 , 290
reaction defined, 13-14, in
America, 77-78, 124, 169-

3 0, 177-178, 249 See also
tra-conservabsm
Read, Leonard, 172, 184, 287
reason, 16, Conservative atti-
tude toward, 49-51, 61-62,
63, in Conservative tradi-
tion, 22, 65

reform, 31, 32, 51, 56, 120-
130, 145, American attitude
toward, 83-84, 216, con-
trasted with change, 94-96
See oho change
religion, 34, 158, and Con-
servatism, 22-23, 42-44. 5*.
in American political tradi-
tion, 76, in American prac-
tice, 149-150. in laissez-
faire conservatism, 143,
211-212, in modem Ameri-
can conservatism, 192, 268
See oho Christianity,
churches

Reppher, Agnes, 51, 159
representation, 33, 104
Republican Party, 129, 147,

160, 170. 174. 244. *45.
246-247, 286

Reuther, Walter, lx, 165, 171,
178, 24S

revolution, 11, 14, 53-54
Rtchberg, Donald R , 285
Riemer, Neal, 281
Riesman, Das id, 279, 292
Right defined, 15, 108-109,
In America, 96, 97-127,

128-132, 154, 155. 162,

163-182, 197-19S. 202, 215,
237, 240-246

rights of roan, 32, 34, 36, 136-
l 37. *4 4. reciprocity with
duties, 38-39 65
Robinson, Edward Arlington,
„ J59

Robinson, James Harvey, 44-

Roche, John P , 284
Rockefeller, John D , sr , 13s,
152, 203

Rockefeller, John D , jr , 145'

Rockefeller, Nelson, 174, 251
Rogow, A A , 278
Rohden, P R , 2 77
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 165, 171.
180, 181, 186

Roosevelt, Franklin D , 3, 67,
161, 165-166, 168, 171, 175,
216, 220, 222, 235, political
ideas, 91-92

Roosevelt, Theodore, 67, 129,
160, as "conservative," 90-

Root, Ehhn, 147, 151, 265
Ropke Wilhelm, 172, 277
Ross, R C , 284
Roy, Ralph, 290
Rubin, Louis D , jr , 288
Rudolph, Frederick, 243, 284
Ruffin, Edmund, 126
Ryan, John A., 232, 276

St. Augustine, 16, 19, 27O
St Thomas Aquinas, 16, 19.
276. 292

Samtsbuiy, George, 272
Salisbury, Marquess of, 27a
Saltonstall, Leverett, 181
Santa) ana, Ceorge, 159
Saturday Evening Post, 173
Sawyer, George, 126
Scanlan, James P , 281
Schlesmger, Arthur M , sr ,
83-84, 279

Schlesmger, Arthur M , Jr .

viu, 171, 241. 260, 284
Schoeps, Hans Joachim, 277
science, 206, 231-232
S<»tt. Sir Walter, 124, 27a
Sears, Laurence, 284
security, 35, 188-189
Senate, U S , 142
separation of powers, 140
Shanahan, W 0 , 277
Shays, Darnel, 87
Sheen, Fulton J , 276
Shepard, Arthur C , 186
Shields, Currin V , 80, 279
Simms, William Gilmore, 1*6

INDEX

305

Simon, Yves R , 276
Simons, Henry C , 290
slavery, m U S , 69, 8g, 119,
124, 128

Skchter, Sumner, 290
Smith, Adam, 131, 198
South, Gerald L K , 168
Smith, Page, 284
Smith, T V , 379
Smith, William A., 136
social contract, 31
Socialism, 41, 77, 92, 129, 17S
Social Security, 92, 169, 176
society, 7-8, 9, a2 , 51, 52,
342, m Conservative tradi-
tion, 24, 27-31. 33. 35-36,
65, in American political
tradition, 80-81, 206, in
American practice, 207, in
early American conserva-
tism, 120-123, in laissez-
faue conservatism, 142-143,
154, in modern American
conservatism, 192-193. 201,
in American Conservatism,
aoi

Sokolsky, George, 172, 286
South, U S, 68, 119-124,
126, 176, 226-232, 246-
348. 275-276
Southey, Robert, 272
Soviet Union, 175
Spahr, Walter 172, 285
Spencer, Herbert, 131. *5°.
151, 152. 159, 161, 198,
208, 226, influence in

America, 150-151
Spitz, David, 284, 291
Square Deal, 90-91, 02
Stahl. F J , 277
"stake-in-society,” 11 8
states rights, 124
staUstn, 40-42, 73, 249
Stedman, Murray, 291
Stephen, Sir James Fibiames.
27a

Stevenson, Adlat 93-94, ib5>
180, 18G, 208, 222, 225.
263

Shgfer, George, 284
Snmson, Henry L , 174. 290
Stoke, H W , 284
Stone, Fdward 288
Stone, Harlan Fiske, 151
Story, Joseph, 118, 119, 125

Stoughton, William, 100
Strauss, Leo, 225, 275
Strout, Cushing, 284
suffrage, 24, 117-118, 138
Sumner, William Graham,
131, 132, 136, 145. 147-

148, 153. 155, *61, 183,

194, 226, 260, 265, quoted,
134-135, 13S, 139, 144
Supreme Court, U S , 92,
141, 144, 149, 177. 191.

cases, us, 133, 136-137.
139, 141, 144-145. *26,

*31. 244

Sutherland, George, 139, 149,
161

Sutton, F X , 284
Swisher, Carl B , 282

Taft, Charles T , 174
Taft, Robert A, 173, 177»
180, 196, 244, political

ideas, 182-193, 198-201,

224-225, 260, 263, 285
Taft, William Howard, 147
Tame, Hyppohte, 277
Tannenbaum, Frank, 291, 29a
tariff, 139, 148
Tate, Allen, 229, 275
Tennessee Valley Authority,
83, 92, -76

T< nnyson. Loro, 20-29
Thayer, W M , 14?

Thompson, Kenneth, 291
Thoreau, Henry David, 131
Thurmond, otxom, 17°
Tiedeman, Christopher, 148
TocqueviJe, Alexis de, 125.

TohXnc

10, Ralph de, 172

TOr.es, American, 101
totalitaria ni sm, 14, 18, 62, 83,
167

tradition, 16, 23, 44 , 5 1 . 53 .
65. 257

traditionalism, lo, 14, 47, 74,
168, 194, an
Tnlling, Lionel, 217-218
Truman, Harry S , 165
fucker, Nathaniel Beverly,

126

Twiss, Benjamin EL, 282
two-party system, U S , 55,
79-80, 165, 177, 246-247.
2S5

CONSERVATISM IN AMERICA

ultra -conservatism, U S, 13,

170-173, 174-179, 180, 250-
351, 2S6-288
Underhill, Frank H , 374
unions see labor
United Nations, 170, 175
United States as conservative
country, 78-96, future of,

348-249. 269-370

U 5 Chamber of Commerce,
173 „

unity, 28, 33, 74-75, 177, 242
Utley, Freda, 173
Utley, S Wells, 386
Utley, T E , 272
utopia, 3, 20, 45,77
Valentine, Alan, ago
Van Den Haag, Ernest, 287
Varney, Harold Lord, 172
Veblen, Thorstein, 7, 213, 282
Vemllot, Louis, 277
Viereck, Peter, 21, 35, 43,
222-223, 262, 263. 265,
*71. *74, 284
violence, 13-14, 48
virtue see morality
Vivas, EUseo, 225
Voegelin, Enc, 172, 275
Vose, Clement E , 292
Walker, Das id B, 281
Walker, Edwin A 171
Walker, Francis A , 148, 290
Wallace, Henry, 165
Wallich, Henry C, 174, 225
Walsh, Correa M , 281
Walter, E V , 284
Ward, Nathaniel, 100
Warner, W Lloyd, 8t, 279
Warren, Austin, 282
Warren, Earl, 174, 176
Warren, Robert Penn, 229
Washington, George, 87, 102,
l°7. US, 264

weaver, Richard, 223, 226,
231. 237, 252, 262, 274,
275, 276 2S8

Webster, Darnel, 118, 125,

Wefcli, Rotert, 168
welfare state. 165, 190-101
Wells. David A., 148
Wendell, Barrett, 159
Wes tin, Alan, 292
Wharton, Edith, 159

Wheeler, Harvey, 384
Wherry, Kenneth, 170
Whig Party, 119. 142

Whiggery, in early America,
100-101

White, Morton, 284
White, R J , 29, 43. 271
White, W S,285
Whiteside, Andrew G , 377
Whitman, Walt, 4, 131
Whyte, William H„ 208, 284.

Wic£ , Karl, 277
Wilhelmsen, F D, 224. 232.
25C, 276

Willard, Samuel, 100
Williams, Robin, 279
Williams, Roger, 85, 86, 2®7
Wills, Garry, 288
Wilson, Charles E , 246 .

Wilson, Francis G , 223, 226,

237. 274, 376, 277. *79
Wilson, James, 107
Wilson, Woodrow, 85-88^129,
ISO, J89, 235, 282, as con-
servative," 90-91. 95 .

Wmtbrop, John, 99-100, 120
Wisconsin Idea, 90-91
Wise, John. 86
Wolfe, A B , 7, 278
W'olin, Sheldon, 273
Wollheira, Richard, 273
Wood, Henry, 148
Wood, Neal, 373
Woolsey, Theodore Dwight,
148

Wordsworth, William, 272
Workman, William, 288
Wormser, Rene A , 286
Worsthorne, Peregrine, 372
Worthy, J C , 39°

Wnght.B F,ir,74 278
, Wright, David McCord, 225,

290 , „

, Wright, Esmond, 284
, Wnston, Henry M-, 173* , 95>
225, 286

Wyllie, Inin C . 282
Youmans, Edward L*. 150
Young Americans for Free-
dom, 17*

Young. Stark, 239
Zoll, Donald A-, 225, 274
Zoll, Allen, 172